REESE    LIBRARY 

OF    T1IK 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Received 

Accessions  No3^~.&  &  J        Shelf 


RHETORICAL  PRAXIS. 

THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    RHETORIC 


EXEMPLIFIED   AND   APPLIED  IN  COPIOUS   EXERCISES    FOR 
SYSTEMATIC  PRACTICE,    CHIEFLY   IN   THE 

DEVELOPMENT  OE  THE  THOUGHT. 


For   "Use   in    Schools    and.    Colleges. 


BY  HENRY   N.   DAY, 

AUTHOR  OP  "ELEMENTS  OF  THE  ART  OF  RHETORIC"  AND  "THE  ART 
OF  ELOCUTION." 


UNIVERSITY 


CINCINNATI: 
MOORE,    WILSTACH    &   BALDWIN. 

25   WEST   FOURTH   STREET. 
1868. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

HENRY  N.  DAY, 
in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  Ohio. 


STEREOTYPED  AT  THE 

FEANKLIN    TYPE    FOUNDRY, 

CINCINNATI,  0. 


PREFACE. 


"  ALL  true  power  in  writing,"  it  has  been  well  ob- 
served by  Daniel  Webster,  "  is  in  the  idea ;  not  in  the 
style — an  error  into  which  the  are  rhetorica,  as  it  is 
usually  taught,  may  easily  lead  stronger  heads  than 
mine."  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  how  generally 
recent  systems  of  rhetoric,  in  the  English  language  at 
least,  have  been  constructed  on  this  fundamental  error. 
With  hardly  an  exception,  they  have  made  style  the 
first  thing,  the  second  thing,  and  the  last  thing  in  the 
study  of  the  art  of  Discourse.  The  development  of  the 
thought ;  the  necessity  of  "  having  something  to  say," 
the  first  of  all  the  requisites,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  in- 
forms us,  for  excelling  in  the  art  of  composition,  and 
of  having  an  object  in  saying  it;  the  systematic  ex- 
position of  the  principles  which  must  guide  in  inventing 
and  unfolding  thought ;  the  application  of  these  prin- 
ciples, one  by  one,  in  suitable  exercises,  giving  the 
pupil  an  opportunity  to  acquire  them  intelligently  and 
thoroughly  for  ready  and  accurate  use  as  practical 
rules; — all  this  seems  to  be  ignored  or  intentionally  ex- 
cluded from  view.  The  attention  of  the  learner  has 
been  almost  exclusively  directed  upon  the  expression — 
the  verbal  form  of  the  thought.  Hence,  exercises  in 


iv  PREFACE. 

* 

composition  in  our  seminaries  of  learning  are,  for  tlie 
most  part,  repulsive  to  teacher  and  pupil,  and  attended, 
comparatively,  with  little  profit.  Some  aptness  in  the 
use  of  words  may  be  acquired ;  but  the  great  benefit 
to  be  expected  from  these  exercises,  if  properly  con- 
ducted, in  stimulating  and  invigorating  the  power  of 
thought — the  thinking  faculty  itself,  has  been  almost 
entirely  lost.  It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  the  mind 
of  the  pupil  should  revolt  from  an  exercise  which  is 
conducted  on  the  false  principle  of  giving  predominance 
to  form  over  substance ;  or  worse,  and  more  in  accord- 
ance with  fact,  of  making  style  everything,  and  thought 
nothing.  How  utterly  blind  and  unintelligent  the  pro- 
cedure is,  as  it  is  usually  conducted,  appears  at  once 
from  this,  that  if  the  pupil  were  asked  what  precisely 
the  theme  is  of  which  he  is  treating,  he  would,  for  the 
most  part,  be  troubled  to  answer,  except  in  the  most 
vague  and  general  terms ;  but  if  questioned  as  to  the 
particular  object  proposed  in  handling  the  theme,  and 
the  exact  and  well  settled  method  by  which  this  object 
is  to  be  attained,  he  would  probably  reply,  of  all  this 
he  had  never  dreamed,  as  having  anything  to  do  with 
writing  a  composition. 

The  study  of  style  is  well ;  but  the  study  of  the 
thought  in  respect  to  its  development  in  reference  to 
some  definitely  proposed  end  or  object  is  yet  the  great 
thing  in  writing.  Well  has  it  been  said :  "  A  writer, 
whose  single  design  appears  clearly  in  all  he  says,  may 
violate  every  other  rule,  and  yet  command  entire  re- 
spect." 

The  preparation  of  the  following  text-book  has  heon 
undertaken  with  these  views  of  the  relative  importance 


PREFACE,  V 

of  the  two  departments  in  rhetoric,  of  invention  and 
style  in  the  study  of  the  art.  Numerous  text-books  of 
real  merit,  designed  to  form  to  the  art  of  correct  ex- 
pression, have  been  recently  presented  to  the  public, 
which  teachers  have  used  with  much  satisfaction.  But 
this  want,  that  of  a  guide  to  the  unfolding  of  the  thought, 
has  not  been  met  in  any  of  them. 

There  are  various  difficulties  in  preparing  a  work  of 
this  kind.  The  principal  difficulty,  however,  as  experi- 
enced by  the  author,  lies  in  introducing  the  mind  of 
the  pupil  into  the  field  of  abstract  thought.  Indeed, 
some  will  be  apt  to  think  that  the  effort  must  be  fruit- 
less ;  and  that  the  intelligent  application  of  abstract 
principles  by  tender  minds  must  be  impracticable.  But 
yet  this  difficulty  is  experienced  in  all  similar  arts,  and 
emphatically  so  in  arithmetic.  What  more  abstract  than 
the  principles  of  number  ?  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  principles  will  be  thoroughly  comprehended  in 
their  grounds  and  relations.  But  while  this  is  conceded, 
it  must  still  be  maintained  that  the  application  of  the 
principle,  begun,  perhaps,  in  comparative  blindness,  is 
the  sure  and  the  only  way  to  the  thorough  comprehen- 
sion of  the  principle  itself  in  its  true  grounds  and  full 
import.  The  outward  form  only  is  grasped  at  first; 
the  spirit  and  life  of  the  principle  is  attained  by  the  ' 
repeated  use  of  the  form.  How  few  pupils,  who  have 
attained  even  much  skill  in  computation,  understand  the 
first  principles  of  number,  can  explain  how  it  can  be 
that  two  and  three  can  be  united  so  as  to  make  five. 
But  even  if  the  principles  of  rhetoric  are  too  abstract 
for  comprehension  by  minds  no  more  mature  than  those 
for  whom  this  praxis  is  designed,  and  were  no  benefit  to 


^i  PREFACE. 

result  from  the  method  of  conducting  exercises  in  com- 
position here  recommended^ — giving  predominant  at- 
tention to  the  thought  to  be  communicated, — other  than 
that  of  working  into  the  mind  of  the  pupil  these  ideas 
as  practical,  controlling  principles  that  writing  is  essen- 
tially the  communication  of  thought,  not  the  accumula- 
tion of  words — not  of  pretty  words  and  sonorous  periods 
even ;  that,  as  a  rational  procedure,  it  must  have  an 
object  and  a  method;  in  other  words,  that,  in  all  com- 
position, the  writer  must  know  that  he  has  something 
to  say,  and  what  it  is,  and  must  have  an  object  in 
saying  it,  and  proceed  intelligently  and  directly  to  the 
attainment  of  this  object,  a  sufficient  reward  would  be 
secured.  The  mind  would  be  exercised  in  conformity 
with  the  laws  of  thought,  and  consequently  so  as  to 
insure  its  own  invigoration.  The  exercise  would  appear 
to  the  pupil  a  rational  procedure  governed  by  rule,  and 
would,  therefore,  be  so  far  attractive,  instead  of  repuls- 
ive. It  would  also  be  sure  to  be  more  satisfactorily 
performed,  as  when  the  pupil  sees  that  his  essay  ex- 
presses an  actual  thought  by  a  true  method  for  a  definite 
end,  whatever  imperfections  or  blemishes  there  may  be 
in  it  in  other  respects,  he  sees  that  the  true  object  of 
his  exertion  is  attained,  and  he  must,  so  far,  be  satisfied 
with  it. 

The  interest  in  style  will  come  necessarily  after- 
ward, from  the  natural  desire  every  one  feels  that  his 
own  thoughts  should  be  fitly  expressed.  Criticism  will 
then  be  practicable  and  intelligible,  as  it  will  all  resolve 
itself  into  this:  Is  the  thought  for  the  proposed  object 
fitly  expressed? 

Whether   the   present   attempt   to   open  out  a  new 


PREFACE.  VI 

> 

method  in  conducting  exercises  in  the  composition  of 
discourse  shall  prove  successful  or  not,  the  author  feels 
a  firm  confidence  in  the  substantial  correctness  of  the 
views  which  have  prompted  the  attempt,  as  established 
not  only  by  mere  theory,  but  proved  abundantly  in 
actual  trial  for  many  years. 

As  the  object  of  this  work  is  purely  practical,  only 
summary  statements  of  the  principles  of  rhetoric  are 
given.  For  more  extended  views,  with  fuller  exposi- 
tions of  the  grounds  of  these  principles,  reference  is 
made  to  the  author's  "  Elements  of  the  Art  of  Rhet- 
oric," a  work  designed  for  more  advanced  minds. 

Only  two  departments  of  Invention  are  here  present- 
ed ;  the  other  two,  Excitation  and  Persuasion^  not  being 
so  important  or  so  useful,  so  far  as  the  object  of  the 
present  work  is  concerned. 

In  the  use  of  this  work,  it  is  recommended  that,  in 
case  the  pupil  should  encounter  difficulty  in  passing 
from  simple  to  abstract  narration,  "  Simple  Descrip- 
tion "  be  taken  up  immediately  after  "  Simple  Narra- 
tion." The  pupil  may  be  kept  on  sensible  themes  until 
sufficiently  trained  to  undertake  abstract  themes. 

Copious  lists  of  themes  are  furnished*  It  is  recom- 
mended that  they  be  regarded  rather  as  suggestive  of 
themes  than  as  statements  of  themes  in  the  exact  shape 
in  which  they  are  to  be  handled.  A  richer  variety,  and 
a  better  adaptation  to  the  capacity  of  the  pupil,  may 
thus  be  secured. 

It  is  also  recommended  that,  in  order  to  accustom  the 
mind  of  the  pupil  to  the  study  of  the  elements  and  prog- 
ress of  the  thought  in  discourse,  exercises  be  proposed 
from  time  to  time  in  analyzing  well  constructed  dis- 


Viii  PREFACE. 

course.  Narratives,  descriptions,  arguments,  may  thus 
be  given  to  the  pupil,  that  he  may  dissect  them  and 
trace  out  the  members  or  elements  of  the  thought  with 
the  order  of  development.  These  abstracts  may  then 
be  subjected  to  criticism. 

The  principles  of  the  art  of  composing  discourse, 
which  are  here  presented  in  larger  type,  should  be  first 
thoroughly  learned  by  the  pupil.  Yet  Locke's  very 
sensible  remark  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  "nobody 
has  made  anything  by  hearing  of  rules,  or  laying  them 
up  in  his  memory :  practice  must  settle  the  habit  of  do- 
ing, without  reflecting  on  the  rule."  It  is  believed  that 
by  judicious  selection  of  themes,  adapting  them  to  the 
degree  of  maturity  in  the  pupil,  he  may  be  conducted 
along  from  the  most  rudimentary  exercises  to  those  of 
the  most  advanced  stage  that  can  be  reached  by  any 
mind  under  the  tuition  and  training  of  another. 

With  the  firmest  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  the 
views  by  which  this  new  method  of  teaching  the  art  of 
composing  discourse  has  been  prompted,  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  with  much  diffidence  as  to  his  success  in 
overcoming  the  intrinsic  difficulties  with  which  his  un- 
dertaking has  been  attended,  and  believing  that  no 
greater  desideratum  exists  in  the  supply  of  educational 
text-books,  than  precisely  in  this  field  of  instruction, 
the  author  commends  his  work  to  the  favoring  judgment 
of  the  public. 

COLLEGE  HILL,  OHIO,  May,  I860. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

1-9.  Dtfiiirt/jtutfs  AND  DIVISIONS  OF  RHETORIC  ................  ,.  15 


FART    I.-INVJENTION. 

CHAPTER  I.—  THE  THEME. 
10-11.  Selection  and  Use  ..................  .,  .................................  17 

CHAPTER  II.—  PARTS  or  DISCOURSE. 

12.  The  Essential  Parts  ...................................................  18 

13.  The  Proposition  ..........  .  .............................................  18 

14.  The  Discussion  .........................................................  18 

15-19.  Forms  of  Discussion:    Explanation,  Confirmation,  Exci- 

tation, and  Persuasion  ...........................................  18 

20.  Subsidiary.  Parts  of  Discourse  .....................................  1°) 

21-22.  Introduction  .....  .  ......................................................  19 

23.  Peroration  ...............................................................  19 

24.  Processes  of  Explanation  ............................................  19 

CHAPTER  III.—  NARRATION. 

25.  Definition  ................................................................   20 

26.  Theme  .....................................................................  20 

27-30.  Laws  ......................................................................   20 

31.  Kinds  ....................................................................   21 

CHAPTEE  IY.—  SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

32.  Definition  ................................................................   26 

33.  Directions  for  Exercises  ...............................................  26 

34-40.  Exercises  ................................................................   30 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V.— ABSTRACT  NARRATION. 

PAGB 

§§  41.  Definition 33 

42.  Directions  for  Exercises 33 

43-45.  Exercises 36 

CHAPTER  VI.— COMPLEX  NARRATION. 

46.  Definition 38 

47.  Theme 38 

48-50.  Laws 38 

51.  Directions  for  Exercises 43 

52-53.  Exercises 46 

CHAPTER  VII.— DESCRIPTION. 

54.  Definition 47 

55.  Theme 47 

56-59.  Laws 47 

60.  Kinds 48 

.CHAPTER  VIII.— SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION. 

61.  Definition 48 

62.  Directions  for  Exercises 48 

63-64.  Exercises 53 

.CHAPTER  IX.— ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 

65.  Definition 60 

66.  Directions  for  Exercises 60 

67.  Exercises 65 

CHAPTER  X.— ANALYSIS. 

68.  Definition 72 

69.  Theme 72 

70-72.  Kinds:  Division,  Partition 72 

CHAPTER  XL— DIVISION. 

73.  Theme ,. 73 

74-77.  Laws 73 

78.  Directions  for  Exercises 78 

79.  Exercises :....  79 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XII.—  PARTITION. 

PAGE 

$  80.  Theme  ................................................................     81 

81-84.  Laws  ..................................................................     81 

85.  Exercises  ............................................................     88 


CHAPTEE  XIII.—  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

86.  Definition  ............................................................  89 

87.  Theme  ................................................................  90 

88-91.  Laws  ..................................................................  90 

92.  Directions  for  Exercises  .........................................  96 

93.  Exercises  ............................................................  98 


CHAPTER  XIY.—  COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST. 

94-95.  Definition  ..............................................  ..............  99 

96.  Kinds  ...,.,  ...........................................................  100 

97.  Theme  ................................................................  101 

98-101.  Laws  ..................................................................  102 

102.  Directions  for  Exercises  ..........................................  106 

103.  Exercises  ............................................................  108 

CHAPTER  XY.—  CONFIRMATION. 

104.  Definition  ............................................................  109 

105.  Theme  ................................................................  109 

106-107.  Belief  ............................................  ,  ....................  109 

108.  Proof  ..................................................................  109 

109-110.  Complex  Propositions  :  Proof  .......................  t  .........  Ill 

111.  Distribution  and  Kinds  of  Proof  .............................  113 

112.  Analytic  Proofs  ...................................................  114 

113.  Synthetic  Proofs:  Intuitive  and  Empirical  ...............  115 

114.  Empirical  Proofs:  Kinds  .......................................  116 

115-116.  A  priori  Proofs  ....................................................  116 

117.  Signs  ..................................................................  118 

118.  Testimony  ...........................................................  120 

119.  Authority  ............................................................  121 

120.  Concurrence  .........................................................  122 

121.  Examples  ............................................................  125 

122.  Induction  ............................................................  123 

123.  Analogy  ..............................................................  124 

124.  Real  and  Invented  Examples  .................................  124 

125-126.  Laws  of  Examples  ................................................  124 

127-132.  Arrangement  of  Proofs  .........................................  136 

133-135.  Presumption  ........................................  .  ...............  139 

136.  Directions  for  Exercises  in  Confirmation  ..................  140 

137.  Exercises  .....................  -.  .......................................  143 


Xll  C0NTENTS.- 


PART    II.-STYLE. 


CHAPTER  I.—  GENERAL  DIVISIONS. 

PAGUE 

H  138.  Definition  .............................................................  145 

139.  Classes  of  Properties  .............................................  145 

140.  Absolute  Properties  ...............................................  145 

CHAPTER  II.—  ORAL  PROPERTIES. 

141.  Definition  .............................................................  146 

142.  Euphony  .............................................................  146 

143.  Harmony:    Divisions  .............................................  146 

144.  Harmony  Proper  ..................................................  147 

145.  Rhythm  ..............................................................  147 

146-147.  Melody  ..................  „  ............................................  148 

Faults  to  be  indicated  ............................................   149 

CHAPTER  III.—  SUGGESTIVE  PROPERTIES. 

148.  Division  ...............  .  ..............................................  153 

149.  Imitative  Properties  .............................................   153 

150.  Symbolical  Properties  ............................................  153 

CHAPTER  IV.—  GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES. 

151.  Varieties  .............................................................  155 

Faults  to  be  corrected  ............................................  155 

CHAPTER  V.—  SUBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES. 

152.  Varieties  .............................................................  167 

153.  Significance  ..........................................................   167 

154.  Continuousness...  ..................................................  168 

155.  Naturalness  ..........................................................   169 

CHAPTER  VI.—  OBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES. 

156.  Varieties  .............................................................   170 

157-160.  Clearness  ............................................................   170 

Exercises.*  ...........................................................  172 

161.  Energy:  Varieties  ................................................  175 

162.  Proper  Energy  .....................................................   176 

Exercises  ............................................................   176 

163.  Figurative  Energy  ............................................  ..,  .  178 

164.  Tropes  ................................................................   179 

165.  Simple  Tropes,  Metaphors  .....................................   179 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE 

$§  166.  Synedoche,  Metonymy 179 

167-168.  Figurative  Energy 179 

169.  Vision,  Personification,  Hyperbole 180 

170.  Comparison,  Contrast,  Allegory,  Allusion 180 

171.  Prosopopoeia,  Apostrophe,  Irony,  Doubt,  Interrogation  181 

172.  Inversion,  Anacoluthon,  Aposiopesis,  Sententiousness  182 
Exercises 182 

173.  Kules  for  use  of  Figures 187 

Faults  to  be  indicated 187 

174-176.  Elegance 189 

Exercises 191 

APPENDIX  I.— PROSODY. 

1-2.  Definitions 197 

3.  Varieties  of  Poetic  Form 197 

4.  Alliteration 197 

5-11.  Rhyme 198 

12-15.  Measures 201 

15-18.  Verse. 202 

19.  Parallelism 209 

20.  Stanza 210 

Exercises  in  Versification 212 

APPENDIX  II.— PUNCTUATION. 

1.  Definition 217 

2-5.  Kinds 217 

6.  Etymological  Points 217 

7-8.  Ehetorical  Points :  Kinds 219 

9.  Period 220 

10.  Colon 220 

11.  Semicolon 223 

12.  Comma 224 

13.  General  Principles  of  Punctuation 227 

14.  Rhetorical  Points :  second  class...' 230 

15.  The  Exclamation  Point 230 

16.  The  Interrogation  Point 231 

17.  The  Dash 233 

18.  Quotation  Marks , 233 

19.  Points  for  Reference 236 

APPENDIX  III. 
CAPITAL  AND  ITALIC  LETTERS 237 

APPENDIX  IV.— THEMES. 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

Personal  Experiences 240 

Experiences  of  Others 240 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAOl 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  NARRATION — continued 

Experiences  of  Communities 242 

Occurrences  in  Nature 242 

Imagination 243 

Miscellaneous 243 

THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  NARRATION. 

Personal  Experiences 245 

Experiences  of  Others 246 

Social  Experiences 246 

Miscellaneous 247 

THEMES  IN  COMPLEX  NARRATIVE 247 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION 251 

THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION 253 

THEMES  IN  ANALYSIS  BY  DIVISION 257 

THEMES  IN  ANALYSIS  BY  PARTITION 258 

THEMES  IN  EXEMPLIFICATION 258 

THEMES  IN  COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST 259 

THEMES  FOR  CONFIRMATION 261 

MISCELLANEOUS  THEMES 276 

APPENDIX  Y. 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

Second  Stage  of  Christiana's  Pilgrimage 295 

Robinson  Crusoe's  Early  Life 296 

Grace  Darling 297 

King  Philip's  War 298 

THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  NARRATION. 

Cruelty  of  Joseph's  Brethren 298 

Pascal's  Mathematical  Studies 299 

Story  of  Colbert  as  a  Financier 300 

Repentance 301 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION. 

My  Study  Table 301 

May  Morning  at  Kavenna 302 

A  Brook 303 

The  Kainbow 303 

THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 

Etymology 304 

Biography 304 

Multiplication 305 

A  State 305 

Plans  of  Exercises  on  the  same  Theme,  Developed  under 

different  Processes 306 

The  Eight  Hand 306 

Self-knowledge...  ..  307 


UNIVERSITY 


I  VISIONS. 


§  1.  RHETORIC  is  THE  AET  OF  DISCOURSE. 

§  2.  DISCOURSE  is  the  expression  of  thought  in  lan- 
guage. 

§  3.  Discourse  includes  Oratory,  Poetry,  Epistolary 
Composition,  and  Representative  Discourse. 

§  4.  ORATORY  is  that  form  of  Discourse  in  which 
thought  is  expressed  for  the  sake  of  an  immediate  effect 
on  another  mind. 

It  is  of  three  kinds  :  Judicial,  Deliberative,  and  Sacred. 

§  5.  POETRY  is  that  form  of  Discourse  in  which 
thought  is  expressed  for  the  sake  of  beautiful  expres- 
sion. 

The  leading  kinds  of  Poetry  are  the  Epic,  the  Dra- 
matic, the  Descriptive,  and  the  Lyric. 

§  6.  EPISTOLARY  COMPOSITION  is  that  form  of  Dis- 
course in  which  thought  is  communicated  to  an  absent 
mind. 

(15) 


1C  GENERAL   DIVISIONS. 

§  7.  REPRESENTATIVE  DISCOURSE  is  that  form  in 
which  thought  is  expressed  for  its  own  sake. 

It  includes  History,  Biography,  Travels,  Essays,  and 
Scientific  Treatises. 

§  8.  The  two  departments  of  Rhetoric,  are  INVEN- 
TION and  STYLE. 

§  9.  INVENTION  in  Rhetoric  treats  of  the  supply  of 
the  thought  in  Discourse. 

STYLE  in  Rhetoric  treats  of  the  expression  of  thought 
in  language. 


PAET    I. 

INVENTION, 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE       THEME. 

§  10.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  in  writing,  is  to 
select  a  theme. 

§  11.  The  following  rules  are  to  be  observed  in  the 
selection  and  use  of  the  theme : 

1.  There  must  be  but  one  theme  in  a  single  discourse 
or  composition.     • 

2.  The  theme  must  be  suited  to  the  kind  of  discourse, 
whether  an  Oration,  an  Epic  poem,  a  History,  or  other 
kind  of  writing. 

3.  It  must  be  adapted  to  the  occasion  on  which  it  is 
to  be  pronounced  or  read. 

4.  It  must  be  adapted  to  the  mind  addressed. 

5.  It  must  be  one  that  lies  within  the  power  of  the 
writer  to  handle  properly. 

It  should  be,  accordingly,  a  theme  which  he  under- 
stands, or  upon  which  he  can  obtain  information. 
It  should,  also,  be  specific  rather  than  general.     An 
2  (17) 


18  PARTS  OF  DISCOURSE. 

immature  inind  will  write  more  easily  about  "  an  oak 
tree,"  than  about  "  a  tree  "  in  the  general. 

Abstract  themes,  moreover,  such  as  "  virtue/'  "  mod- 
esty," "  humility,"  are  more  difficult  for  the  beginner. 

A  young  writer,  still  further,  should  beware  of  spe- 
cious titles,  and  high  sounding  mottoes  or  proverbs,  as  he 
should  remember  that  it  is  the  thought,  nob  the  language 
— the  kernel,  not  the  shell — which  is  to  yield  the  ideas 
and  sentiments  for  his  composition. 

6.  The  theme  should  be  distinctly  stated  to  the 
writer's  own  mind,  in  connection  with  the  object  for 
which  it  is  to  be  used,  before  beginning  to  write  upon  it. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PARTS     OF     DISCOURSE. 

§  12.  The  two  essential  parts  of  a  .Discourse  are  the 
PROPOSITION  and  the  DISCUSSION. 

§  13.  The  PROPOSITION  is  the  statement  of  the  theme 
in  connection  with  the  object  of  the  discourse 

§  14.  The  DISCUSSION  is  the  unfolding  of  the  theme, 
and  makes  up  the  body  of  the  discourse.  It  is  the 
Proposition  expanded. 

§  15.  The  Discussion  is  of  four  forms,  viz  :  EXPLANA- 
TION, CONFIRMATION,  EXCITATION,  and  PERSUASION. 

§  16.  EXPLANATION  is  that  form  of  discussion  in  which 
the  object  is  to  inform  or  instruct. 


PARTS  OF  DISCOURSE.  19 

§  17.  CONFIRMATION  is  that  form  of  discussion  in  which 
the  object  is  to  prove  a  truth,  or  disprove  an  error. 

§  18.  EXCITATION  is  that  form  of  discussion  in  which 
the  object  is  to  excite  or  allay  the  feelings. 

§  19.  PERSUASION  is  that  form  of  discussion  in  which 
the  object  is  to  move  the  will. 

§  20.  Besides  the  two  essential  parts  of  Discourse 
that  have  been  named,  there  are  also  two  subsidiary 
parts,  viz. :  the  INTRODUCTION  and  the  PERORATION. 

§  21.  The  use  of  the  Introduction  is  to  prepare  the 
mind  of  the  hearer  or  reader  for  the  discussion. 

§  22.  The  nature  of  the  Introduction,  as  a  subsidiary 
part  of  discourse,  indicates  the  following  as  guiding 
principles  in  writing  it : 

1.  It  should  be  written  after  the  discussion  has  been 
thought  out. 

2.  It  should  be  brief  as  compared  with  the  discussion. 

3.  It  should  be  kept  strictly  subsidiary  to  the  main 
object  of  the  discussion. 

§  23.  The  use  of  the  Peroration  is  to  apply  the  dis- 
cussion to  the  more  immediate  or  a  more  specific  design 
of  the  discourse. 

§  24.  There  are  five  different  processes  by  which  ex- 
planation is  effected,  viz. :  NARRATION,  DESCRIPTION, 
ANALYSIS,  EXEMPLIFICATION,  and  COMPARISON  AND  CON- 
TRAST, 

The  general  laws  which  govern  in  explanation,  are 
four,  viz. :  the  LAW  OF  UNITY,  the  LAW  OF  SELECTION, 
the  LAW  OF  METHOD,  and  the  LAW  OF  COMPLETENESS. 


20  NARRATION. 

CHAPTER  III. 

NARRATION. 

§  25.  NARRATION  is  that  process  of  explanation  which 
exhibits  its  theme  under  the  relations  of  time. 

§  26.  The  THEME  in  narration  must,  accordingly,  be 
something  that  becomes,  that  happens,  that  changes, 
as  an  event,  a  growth,  a  cause,  an  effect,  or  the  like. 
Themes  in  narration  are,  thus,  such  as  the  Deluge,  the 
Advent  of  Christ,  the  Crusades,  the  Discovery  of  Amer- 
ica, the  Rise  of  Infidelity. 

^§  27.  The  LAW  OF  UNITY,  in  narration,  requires  that 
there  be  but  one  event,  or  one  subject  of  change,  "exhib- 
ited as  the  theme. 

§  28.  The  LAW  OF  SELECTION  requires  that  those 
stages  in  the  change  of  the  theme,  or  those  divisions 
of  the  time  in  which  the  event  transpired,  T^e  selected, 
which  will  best  exhibit  the  change  itself. 

§  29.  The  LAW  OF  METHOD  requires  that  the  theme 
be  exhibited  strictly  in  the  relations  of  time. 

The  method  may  be  either  that  of  successive  stages  of 
change,  or  that  of  successive  periods  of  time.  Thus  the 
History  of  the  United  States  may  be  divided  into  the  stage 
of  settlement,  of  colonial  organization,  and  of  independence ; 
or,  into  periods  of  quarter,  half,  or  entire  centuries.  The 
method  of  a  Biography  may  be  founded  on  the  leading  inci- 
dents or  decisive  stages  of  the  life,  or  upon  the  periods  of 


NARRATION.  21 

time,  as  of  the  seasons  of  life,  as  childhood,  youth,  man- 
hood, and  old  age ;  or,  of  time,  as  years,  or  decades  of  years. 

§  30.  The  LAW  OF  COMPLETENESS  requires  that  the 
theme  be  exhibited  in  all  the  changes  necessary  in  order 
to  give  the  full  information  proposed. 

§  31.  Narration  is  of  three  kinds :  SIMPLE,  ABSTRACT, 
and  COMPLEX. 

Point  out  the  violations  of  the  laws  of  narration  in  the 
following  plans. 

I.     THEME. — Robinson  Crusoe 's  Journal  for  Nov.  4. 

1.  Walked  out  with  my  gun  for  two  or  three  hours. 

2.  After  returning,  worked  till  eleven  o'clock. 

3.  Ate  what  I  had  to  live  on. 

4.  Worked  toward  evening. 

5.  Slept  from  twelve  till  two. 

6.  Made  a  table  to-day. 

7.  I  was  but  a  very  sorry  workman. 

II.     THEME. — Elijah  and  the  Prophets  of  Baal. 

1.  Elijah  tells  Obadiah  that  he  will  assuredly  go  before 
the  king  Ahab. 

2.  He  boldly  charges  Ahab  with  having  troubled  Israel 
by  his  idolatry,  and  bids  him  call  together  the  prophets  of 
Baal  on  Mount  Carmel  for  a  trial. 

3.  He  meets  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  prophets  at 
the  place  appointed. 

4.  The  prophets  call  upon  Baal  to  answer  by  fire. 

5.  They  are  derided  by  Elijah,  as  Baal  makes  no  answer. 

6.  Elijah  built  an   altar,  and  laid   a  bullock  upon    the 
wood,  and  then  had  four  barrels  of  water  poured  upon  the 
whole. 


22  NARRATION. 

7.  He  had  this  done  three  times. 

8.  He  then  called  upon  Jehovah,  who  answered  by  send- 
in  %  down  fire  that  consumed  the  sacrifice  and  the  altar. 

o 

9.  He  caused  the  prophets  of  Baal  to  be  seized  and  slew 
them  all.  t 

10.  The  people,  when  they  saw  the  fire  come  down  and 
consume  the  sacrifice,  declared  Jehovah  to  be  the  true  God. 

11.  The  prophets  of  Baal  prophesied  in  their  way,  and 
cried 'to  Baal  from  midday  till  the  time  of  the  evening  sac- 
rifice, but  to  no  purpose. 

12.  Elijah  supplicated  Jehovah  once  at  the  usual  hour  of 
the  evening  sacrifice,  and  received  an  immediate  answer  in 
the  fire  that  fell  and  consumed  the  sacrifice. 

III.     THEME. — History  of  the  Creation. 

1.  On  the  first  day,  light  was  created. 

2.  The  waters  were  then  divided  into  those  of  the  earth 
and  those  of  the  air. 

3.  The   dry  land  was  then  made  to  arise  and  separate 
itself  from  the  seas. 

4.  Next,  grass  was  produced  and  the  various  orders  of 
plants. 

5.  The  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  were  then  made  to 
shine  forth  upon  earth. 

6.  The  light  was  separated  from  the  darkness. 

7.  Animals  were  created. 

8.  Fishes  and  birds  came  into  being. 

9.  Whales  were  now  sporting  in  the  seas. 

10.  The  earth,  the  air,  and  the  waters,  are  all  charged  with 
animal  life. 

11.  Last  of  all,  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  male 
and  female. 

12.  The  first  home  of  man  was  in  Paradise. 


NARRATION.  23 

IV.     THEME.— The  Life  of  Jacob. 

1.  Jacob,  the  son  of  Isaac  and  the  twin  brother  of  Esau, 
was  born  1836  years  before  Christ. 

2.  He  was  called  Jacob,  the  heel-holder,  as  if  to  intimate 
his  disposition  as  crafty  and  insidious. 

3.  He  took  advantage  of  Esau's  necessities,  and  bought 
of  him  the  birthright. 

4.  He  married  Leah,  and  seven  years  afterward  Rachel, 
both  daughters  of  his  uncle  Laban. 

5.  Esau  was  turbulent  and  fierce  in  his  disposition  ;  and 
his  anger  at  being  circumvented  in  regard  to  the  birthright 
drove  Jacob  from  home  to  live  with  Laban,  in  Mesopotamia. 

6.  Esau,  with  four  hundred  men,  met  Jacob  as  he  re- 
turned from  Mesopotamia,  but  accepted  Jacob's  presents  and 
embraced  him  with  brotherly  affection. 

7.  Jacob    served    Laban    seven    years   for   each    of   his 
daughters. 

8.  He  accumulated  a  large  property  in  cattle  and  sheep 
by  his  shrewd  management,   and  left  Laban  suddenly  and 
secretly,  and  returned  to  his  native  country  with  his-  family 
and  possessions. 

9.  After  dwelling  at  Succoth,   east  of  the  Jordan,   for 
some  time,  and  then  at  Salem,  he  went  to  Hebron,  to  visit  his 
father,  who  lived  with  his  son  twenty-two  years. 

10.  Joseph,  the   oldest  of  Rachel's  sons,  was    sold   into 
Egypt,  through  the  jealousy  of  his  brothers,  for  Joseph  was 
a  favorite  with  his  father,   about  ten  years  before   Isaac's 
death. 

11.  Rebecca  died  on  the  way  to  Hebron,  and  was  buried 
near  Bethlehem. 

12.  Joseph  became    a  prince  in  Egypt,  and  brought  his 
father's  family,  in  a  time  of  severe  famine,  down  to  Egypt, 
and  gave  them  the  land  of  Goshen. 

13.  Joseph  thus  saw  his  dream  about  his  brothers  being 


24  NARRATION. 

subject  to  him,  which  twenty  years  before   provoked  theii 
jealousy,  strangely  fulfilled. 

14.  Jacob,  for  twenty  years  before  he  went  down  to  Egypt, 
mourned  bitterly  over  the  loss  of  Joseph,  supposing  him  to 
have  been  killed  by  wild  beasts. 

15.  He  lived  seventeen  years  in  Egypt,  when  he  died  and 
was  buried  near  Hebron. 

Y.     THEME. —  The  Life  of  Joseph. 

1.  He  was  the  son  of  Jacob,  and  born  in  Mesopotamia. 

2.  His  youth  was  remarkable  for  the  prophetic  dreams 
with  which  he  was  favored  of  God. 

3.  He  was  peculiarly  beloved  by  his  father. 

4.  He  was  the  object  of  the  envy,  jealousy,  and  hate  of 
his  elder  brothers. 

5.  He  was  sold  by  them  into  Egypt. 

6.  He  did  not  revenge  this  wrong  when  he  had  the  guilty 
ones  in  his  power. 

7.  He  became   a  slave  to  Potiphar,  and  gradually  won 
the  confidence  of  his  master. 

8.  He  was  imprisoned  on  a  false  accusation,  and  obtained 
release  by  interpretation  of  some  dreams  of  his  fellow-pris- 
oners. 

9.  He  became,  in  consequence,  the  highest  officer  in  the 
kingdom,  and  married  into  the  distinguished  family  of  the 
priest  of  On. 

10.  He   saved   Egypt  and  his  father   and  family  by  his 
provident  sagacity. 

11.  Jacob  removed  with  his  family  into  Egypt  and  settled 
in  Goshen. 

12.  Some  think  Joseph  practiced  divination,  but  they  rest 
their  opinion  on  a  wrong  interpretation  of  Scripture, 


NARRATION.  25 

VI.     THEME. —  The  History  of  the  Inquisition. 

1.  The  Inquisition  originated  under  Innocent  III,  near 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  was  established 
for  the  purpose  of  extirpating  the  Albigenses. 

2.  By  the  middle  of  this  century,   the  Inquisition  was 
introduced  into  parts  of  Italy,  France,  and  Spain,  although 
firmly  opposed  in  Castile  and  Leon,  and  closely  watched  by 
the  civil  powers  elsewhere. 

3.  Under   Ferdinand   and   Isabella,  in  1480,  a   tribunal 
under   the  name  of   the  General   Supreme  Inquisition  was 
established  by  the  Estates  of  Spain,  assembled  at  Toledo, 
and  the  new  court  opened  in  Seville  in  1481. 

4.  After  much  resistance,  the  tribunal  became  an  insti- 
tution  of  the  kingdom,  and  was  used  to  enforce  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  court. 

5.  It  was  established  in  Portugal  in  1557. 

6.  The  original  design  of  the  Inquisition  was  simply  to 
extirpate  heretics ;  it  afterward  was  extended  to  Jews  and 
Infidels,  and,  in  process  of  time,  to  political  offenders. 

7.  Nothing   could   be   more    abhorrent   to   justice    than 
the  rule  of  this  tribunal,  which  forbade  the  accused   from 
seeing  or  knowing  the  witnesses  against  him,  who  were  not 
only  concealed,  but  rewarded. 

8.  The  number  of  victims,  in  Spain,  to  this  unrighteous 
institution,  is  estimated  at  340,000. 

9.  It  was   abolished   in   Spain  by  Napoleon,  December 
1808;  reestablished  in  1814,  and  again  abolished  in  1820. 

.3 


26  SIMPLE   NARRATION 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SIMPLE     NARRATION. 

§  32.  SIMPLE  NARRATION  exhibits  some  outward  event 
as  occurring,  or  some  outward  change  as  taking  place, 
in  successive  time  ;  as  the  story  of  Brutus ;  the  history 
of  the  Roman  Consulship ;  the  life  of  Csesar ;  the  voy- 
age of  Captain  Cook. 

§  33.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

The  pupil,  after  having  committed  to  memory  the  fore- 
going principles,  in  proceeding  to  actual  exercises  in  com- 
position, will  first  select  his  theme.  It  will  be  best  to  begin 
with  a  simple  event  which  he  has  witnessed,  or  some  change 
which  he  has  experienced  himself.  It  is  of  little  import- 
ance what  it  is,  provided  only  it  be  one  that  he  will  take 
some  interest  in  narrating.  It  may  be  an  account  of  a  walk 
he  has  taken,  in  which  he  will  note  down  just  what  he 
observed  in  the  order  of  occurrence.  It  may  be  a  visit  he 
has  made  or  a  journey  he  has  taken.  It  may  be  simply  the 
occurrences  of  a  day,  or  a  week,  or  other  period  •  of  time. 
In  these  cases,  he  will  only  need  to  bear  in  mind  the  several 
laws  of  narration  in  §§  27—30.  The  law  of  unity  will  be 
violated,  if  he  speak  of  anything  but  what  occurred  to  him- 
self;  that  is,  what  he  saw  or  heard  or  felt,  and  what  will 
help  to  a  better  understanding  of  this.  It  is  he  himself 
that  becomes  the  theme,  and  the  changes  he  experiences 
make  up  the  matter  of  the  narrative. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  in   narration,  we  can  not 


SIMPLE   NARRATION.  27 

represent  anything  in  its  actual  changing.  We  can  not,  by 
any  words  we  can  use,  represent  the  eye  as  actually  passing 
from  object  to  object, — from  scene  to  scene.  We  can  only 
say  that  we  saw  this,  and  then  we  saw  that ;  we  visited  this 
town,  and  then  proceeded,  by  stage-coach  or  otherwise,  to 
that;  we  can  only  indicate  one  change  after  another  in  the 
theme,  and  leave  it  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader  to  con- 
ceive the  actual  changing.  The  skill  of  the  narrator  will  be 
shown  in  selecting  such  changes,  or,  more  exactly,  in  select- 
ing such  stages  of  the  changing  theme,  as  will  enable  the 
reader  to  imagine  how  the  whole  change  went  on.  If  he 
can  follow  you  in  his  imagination  all  along  your  path,  as 
you  set  it  forth,  step  by  step  of  your  progress,  your  success 
will  then,  in  this  particular,  be  complete.  It  will  be  well  to 
keep  this  in  mind  in  writing, — to  imagine  some  one  whom 
you  are  addressing,  and  to  whom  you  are  desirous  of  telling 
just  what  occurred,  so  that  he  will  fully  understand  it. 

The  law  of  selection  will  be  violated  if,  of  what  occurred, 
there  be  taken  unimportant  particulars,  or  such  as  will  not 
best  help  the  reader  of  the  narrative,  to  follow  the  narrator 
through  all  the  successive  occurrences.  There  will  be  more 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  skill  in  the  selection  of  the 
particulars  than  in  anything  else. 

The  law  of  method  will  be  violated,  if  anything  be  put 
down  out  of  the  order  of  its  occurrence. 

The  law  of  completeness  will  be  violated,  if  anything  be 
omitted  that  may  be  necessary  to  convey  the  full  informa- 
tion intended. 

In  the  earlier  exercises,  it  will  be  well  to  confine  the  care  to 
the  matter  of  the  narration,  letting  go  all  disturbing  thought 
about  the  style.  Let  simply  the  different  things  be  noted 
down  in  their  order.  The  style  will  be  a  separate  study 
afterward. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  moreover,  that  in  narrating,  it 


28  SIMPLE   NARRATION. 

* 

is  often  necessary  to  describe ;  that  narration  thus  is  often 
combined  with  description,  as,  indeed,  with  the  other  pro- 
cesses of  explanation ;  just  as,  in  the  same  problem,  in  com- 
putation, the  processes  of  addition  and  the  other  ground-rulas 
of  arithmetic  are  together  called  into  use,  so  in  discourse,  all 
the  processes  are  necessarily  employed  in  the  same  essay. 
Still,  one  of  these  processes  will  always  be  the  governing 
one ;  the  others,  if  employed,  will  be  only  subsidiary ;  and, 
as  in  arithmetic,  it  is  expedient  in  exercising,  to  confine  the 
attention,  so  far  as  possible,  to  one  process  at  a  time. 

This  general  remark  will  apply  to  all  the  subsequent  pro 
cesses.  While  the  attention  may  be  usefully  directed  to  om 
for  the  purpose  of  exercise,  each  process  may  properly  cali 
in  the  aid  of  any  other. 

When  the  narration  is  completed,  it  should  be  criticised 
in  reference  to  the  several  laws  of  narration,  §§27-30;  as, 
Is  there  but  one  subject  or  theme?  Are  the  best  particu- 
lars selected?  Is  everything  stated  in  its  order  of  time? 
Is  nothing  omitted  that  should -have  been  said  to  make  the 
proposed  information  complete  ? 

Lists  of  themes  for  this  kind  of  narrative  will  be  found  in 
the  following  sections,  and  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  from 
which,  or  from  others  like  them,  exercises  should  be  written 
till  the  pupil  becomes  conversant  with  the  principles  of  this 
variety  of  narrative. 

Other  themes  in  simple  narration,  are  the  experiences  of 
others  ;  as  the  Life  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  the  Education 
and  Training  of  Louis  Philippe ;  the  Pitcairn  Islanders ;  the 
Travels  of  Dr.  Kane. 

In  handling  such  themes,  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  most 
part,  instead  of  recalling  what  has  occurred  to  one's  self,  to 
obtain  information  from  others,  in  conversation  or  in  read- 
ing. It  should  be  remembered  that  you  can  communicate 
nothing  to  others  but  what  you  have  first  learned  yourself. 


SIMPLE   NARRATION.  29 

A  third  class  of  themes  in  simple  narration,  includes  such 
•as  the  experiences  of  tribes,  communities,  or  nations.  Such 
are  the  migrations  of  the  Goths  ;  the  Rise  and  Fall  of  Sparta ; 
the  Partition  of  Poland;  the  History  of  Rome. 

A  fourth  class  embraces  facts  in  Natural  History,  or  in 
nature  generally,  as  the  Propagation  of  the  Tulip  ;  the  Spread 
of  Light  at  Dawn ;  the  Formation  of  Clouds ;  the  Growth 
of  Plants. 

A  fifth  class  embraces  what  may  be  called  imaginary 
themes :  the  existence  and  changes  of  which  are  the  mere 
products  of  the  imagination  or  fancy ;  as,  the  History  of  a 
Pin ;  the  Travels  of  a  Humming-Bird ;  the  Biography  of  a 
Rose. 

In  the  selection  of  themes,  which  is  so  often  a  difficult 
task  for  the  young  writer,  the  habit  should  be  formed  of 
thinking  over  the  different  classes  or  fields  of  themes,  one 
by  one,  in  order,  so  that  there  may  be  proper  opportunity 
given  for  one  to  suggest  itself;  or,  more  correctly  speaking, 
so  that  the  inventive  power  may  have  time  to  fasten  on 
something  which  it  shall  be  able  to  handle  with  interest  and 
satisfaction  to  itself.  Thus,  the  mind  may  go  over,  success- 
ively, the  field  of  personal  experience,  or  what  has  happened 
or  can  be  supposed  to  have  happened  to  itself  in  any  way, 
as  what  it  has  seen,  or  heard,  or  felt,  or  dreamed ;  then 
what  in  like  manner  may  have  been  experienced  by  others ; 
then,  what  may  have  occurred  to  communities ;  and  what 
may  have  happened  ^ith  plants  or  animals,  singly  or  col- 
lectively, or  in  nature  generally.  In  this  way,  the  inventive 
power  will  have  opportunity  given  it  for  exercising  itself; 
and  a  theme  thus  selected  by  the  pupil  himself  will  be  likely 
to  be  handled  with  more  interest  and  satisfaction  than  one 
furnished  by  a  teacher. 

But  there  is  an  advantage  in  class  exercises  in  composi- 
tion, to  secure  which,  it  will  be  found  expedient  tjaat  the 


30  SIMPLE   NARRATION. 

teacher  give  out  the  exercise  with  one  or  more  themes  to 
be  written  upon  by  each  pupil.  The  pupil,  being  relieved" 
from  the  selection  of  a  theme,  will  be  put  directly  upon 
seeking  the  information  required  to  enable  him  to  handle 
the  theme,  and  then  upon  putting  on  paper  the  information 
thus  acquired.  The  exercises,  as  differently  prepared  by 
the  different  members  of  the  class,  will  give  opportunity  for 
a  more  full  and  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  process ;  and, 
besides,  the  exercises  will  criticise  each  other,  the  defects  in 
one  being  shown  in  the  successes  of  another. 

The  exercises  should  be  repeated  on  themes  taken  from 
the  different  classes  in  order,  until  a  familiarity  is  acquired 
with  the  use  of  themes  of  each  kind  successively. 

§  34. — Exercises  in  Simple  Narration. 

The  pupil  may  state  orally  or  write  the  particulars  in  the 
several  exercises  proposed,  or  on  others  proposed  by  the 
teacher,  without  any  extended  or  formal  narrative. 

1.  The  employments  of  yesterday. 

2.  The  leading  event  on  each  successive  day  of  the  past 
week. 

3.  The  studies  pursued  in  order  last  year. 

4.  The  objects  noted  in  the  last  walk. 

5.  The  leading  occupations  in  the  several  months  of  the 
last  year. 

§  35. — 1.  Write  out,  in  thoir  order,  the  leading  inci- 
dents in  the  Life  of  Joseph , 

2.  of  Daniel ; 

3.  of  Paul ; 

4.  of  Socrates ; 


SIMPLE   NARRATION.  31 

5.  jLife  of  Cincinnatus ; 

€.  of  Xavier; 

7.  of  Robert  Bruce  ; 

8.  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots ; 

9.  of  Charles  XII  of  Sweden; 

10.  of  John  Howard ; 

11.  of  Franklin; 

12.  of  Lord  Byron  ; 

13.  of  Henry  Martyn ; 

14.  of  Louis  Philippe. 

§  36. — 1.  Mark  out  into  periods,  tho  Life  of  Moses; 

2.  of  Mahomet; 

3.  of  Martin  Luther  ; 

4.  of  Ignatius  Loyola; 

5.  of  Louis  Philippe ; 

6.  of  La  Fayette ; 

7.  of  Oliver  Cromwell ; 

8.  of  The  Earl  of  Chatham; 

9.  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ; 
10.  of  George  Washington. 

§  37. — 1.  Enumerate  in  order  the  Voyages  of  Christopher 
Columbus ; 

2.  of  Sebastian  Cabot; 

3.  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh : 

4.  of  Captain  Hudson  ; 

5.  of  Captain  Cook  ; 

6.  of  Dr.  Kane. 


32  SIMPLE   NARRATION. 

§  38. — 1.  State   the  leading  divisions   in  tlic  History  of 
the  World ; 

2.  of  the  Jews ; 

3.  of  Egypt; 

4.  of  Greece ; 

5.  of  Rome ; 

6.  of  England  • 

7.  of  Russia ; 

8.  of  France ; 

9.  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

.  §  39. — 1.  Enumerate  the  steps  in  the  phenomena  of  rain, 
from  the  evaporation  of  the  ocean  to  the  falling  shower. 

2.  The  stages  in  the  growth  of  the  plant,  from  the  seed 
to  the  matured  fruit  product. 

3.  Progress  of  insect  life,  from  the  egg  to  the  butterfly. 

§  40. — 1.  Write  out  the  successive  changes  of   a  grape, 
from  the  seed  to  the  raisin. 

2.  The  stages  of  life  in  the  butterfly. 

3.  The  progress  of  the  rain-drop  from  the  ocean. 

4.  The  steps  of  its  return  to  the  ocean. 

5.  The  successive  formations  of  rock  in  the  earth, 

6.  The  stages  of  human  life. 

NOTE. — For  themes  for  further  exercises  in  Simple  Narration,  see 
Appendix. 


ABSTRACT   NARRATION.  33 


CHAPTER  V. 

ABSTRACT     NARRATION. 

§  41.  ABSTRACT  NARRATION  exhibits  some  inward  or 
spiritual  event  or  change  as  taking  place  in  successive 
time ;  as  the  Growth  of  Vice,  the  Strengthening  of  Habit, 
the  Spread  of  Learning,  the  Rise  of  Free  Principles  in 
States,  the  Progress  of  Civilization. 

§  42.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISE  IN  ABSTRACT  NARRA- 
TION. 

The  themes  in  this  kind  of  narration  being  not  outward 
and  sensible,  but  internal  or  spiritual — that  is,  such  as  per- 
tain to  the  mind,  and  are  intellectual,  moral,  or  religious  in 
their  nature — require,  for  the  successful  treatment  of  them  a 
more  advanced  stage  of  culture  in  the  pupil ;  although  there 
are  themes*  suitable  to  this  process,  which  are  more  man- 
ageable by  a  young  mind  than  many  in  simple  narration. 

The  different  fields  in  which  the  search  is  to  be  made  for 
themes  proper  for  this  process,  are  analogous  to  those  in  the 
former,  viz. : 

1.  Personal  Experience,  as  the  rise  or  decline  of  opinion?, 
feelings,  habits  in  one's  own  mind  and  heart ; 

2.  Observation  of  similar  experiences  in  other  persons  ; 

3.  Internal  changes  in  communities  or  nations,  or  in  .the 
whole  human  race,  or  of  literature,  science,  morality,  religion, 
principles  of  government,  art,  and  commerce. 

The  same  suggestions  as  in  simple  narration,  are  applicable? 


34  ABSTRACT   NARRATION. 

here  in  regard  to  selection  of  theme,  mode  of  writing,  appli- 
cation of  the  laws  of  narration,  and  criticism. 

There  will  be  a  special  liability  here  to  violate  unity,  by 
introducing  other  particulars  than  those  which  directly  per- 
tain to  the  abstract  theme  itself;  as,  if  in  giving  a  history 
of  the  rise  of  an  opinion  I  have  come  to  entertain,  I  should 
introduce  other  facts  in  my  history  that  have  no  reference  to 
the  rise  of  that  particular  opinion. 

For  an  illustration  of  this  kind  of  narration,  we  will  take, 
for  a  theme,  "  My  love  of  study."  The  exercise  will  be  a 
narration,  in  simple  order  of  time,  of  the  growth  and  prog- 
ress of  this  feeling.  I  first  indicate  my  starting-point,  by 
stating,  that  at  the  beginning  I  had  great  dislike  for  appli- 
cation to  any  kind  of  labor.  But  I  was  introduced  to  school, 
where  study  was  the  business  of  all  my  companions :  I  could 
not  but  feel  but  that  I  must  study  also,  whether  I  liked  it 
or  not.  Then  I  saw  that  others  liked  it,  and  came  to  feel 
that  I  might,  perhaps,  like  it  too.  I  thought  I  would,  at  least, 
try.  It  was  very  hard  at  first.  But  it  seemed  easier  the 
more  I  tried.  One  day  a  companion  received  the  praise  of 
our  teacher  for  a  well  prepared  lesson.  This  kindled  my 
desires  to  earn  like  praise.  I  found  my  difficulties,  also,  to 
disappear.  The  more  I  studied,  the  better  progress  I  made, 
and  the  more  I  was  pleased.  Then  I  began  to  find  a  great 
pleasure  in  knowledge.  I  saw  how  one  truth  was  related 
to  another.  One  day,  in  studying  History,  I  learned  how 
the  people  of  Israel,  after  they  removed  from  Egypt,  drove 
out  the  Canaanites ;  and  how,  in  consequence,  the  old  inhab- 
itants of  Canaan,  being  thus  driven  out  of  their  own  land, 
were  many  of  them  pressed  into  Lower  Egypt,  where  they 
possessed  themselves  of  the  country,  but  were  afterward 
driven  out  and  then  passed  over  into  (Greece.  Thus  I  came 
to  see  how  the  Jewish  history  was  connected  with  the  Egyp- 
tian ;  the  Egyptian  with  the  Grecian ;  the  Grecian  with  the 


ABSTRACT   NARRATION.  35 

Italian,  and  I  was  curious  to  trace  out  all  the  effects  of  the 
various  revolutions  in  Asia  and  Egypt  on  the  settlement  of 
Europe.  I  soon  found  myself  carried  away  with  the  love 
of  History.  It  became  my  fondest  occupation. 

In  like  manner  I  might  go  on  to  tell  how  my  interest  in 
other  studies  was  awakened  and  grew.  Incidents  showing 
how  strong  the  love  of  study  was?  becoming  from  time  to 
time  would  properly  be  introduced. 

The  exercises  here,  as  in  simple  narration,  may  advanta- 
geously be,  at  first,  a  mere  statement,  in  order,  of  the  leading 
points  or  stages  of  the  narrative,  as,  with  the  theme  just 
given  for  illustration,  the  exercise  would  be  the  preparation 
of  a  statement  like  this : 

Dislike  of  study  at  the  beginning ; 

Entering  school,  where  the  business  of  all  was  study; 

Effect  of  example ; 

Growing  satisfaction  with  increased  progress ; 

Relation  of  one  truth  to  another ; 

Incident  in  studying  History,  etc. 

For  illustration  of  an  exercise  on  a  theme  taken  from  the 
class  of  "  Experiences  of  others,"  we  will  take  "  The  growth 
of  the  poetic  spirit  in  Robert  Burns."  First,  in  order  of 
time,  would  be  noted  the  circumstances  of  his  birth  and  in- 
fancy, particularly  the  prostration,  by  a  storm,  of  his  frail 
cottage,  an  incident  which  he  loved,  as  he  grew  up,  to  re- 
call. 

Then  would  be  presented,  in  order,  the  lessons  of  his  pious 
mother,  and  the  influence  of  the  old  songs  and  ballads  she 
used  to  sing  to  him  ; 

His  early  imperfect  schooling  ; 

His  private  study  of  the  French  language  ; 

His  reading  of  old  books  that  fell  in  his  way; 


36  ABSTRACT   NARRATION. 

The  songs  and  tales  of  Jenny  Wilson ; 
The  effect  of  the  depressed  circumstances  of  his  father's 
family ; 

His  out-door  occupations  in  tilling  the  soil ; 

The  music  of  his  partner  in  the  labors  of  harvest,  in  hia 
fifteenth  year ; 

His  troubles; 

The  favorable  reception  of  his  published  poems. 

In  preparing  to  undertake  the  exercise,  the  necessary  in- 
formation must  first  be  obtained.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
exercise  may  be  but  the  recollections  of  a  careful  perusal  of 
some  narrative  or  history,  assisted,  perhaps,  by  conversation 
with  others.  Generally,  it  will  be  expedient  to  read  attent- 
ively some  good  account  of  the  selected  theme,  and  then 
write  out  the  exercise  from  recollection.  A  simple  abstract 
of  such  a  narrative  will  be  of  advantage  in  forming  habits 
of  attention,  of  developing  thought  in  order,  and  of  stating 
it  clearly  and  accurately. 

Care  will  be  necessary  that  this  immediate  resort  to  books, 
for  information  on  any  theme  proposed  for  a  composition,  do 
not  grow  into  a  habit  of  servile  dependence  which  shall  be 
fatal  to  originality  and  mental  energy.  The  information 
should  be  acquired  and  the  book  then  put  out  of  reach,  that 
the  mind  may  be  forced  to  rely  on  its  own  resources.  The 
composition  should  be  drawn  from  the  mind's  own  treasures. 
Exercises,  also,  should  be  undertaken,  from  time  to  time,  for 
which  no  such  recourse  to  books  shall  be  allowable. 

§  43. — Exercises  in  Abstract  Narration. 

1.  Mention  the  steps  of  progress  in  the  study  of  \rith« 
metic ; 

2.  In  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  Geography ; 

3.  In  Penmanship; 


ABSTRACT   NARRATION.  37 

4.  In  the  study  of  the  Latin  Language ; 

5.  In  Drawing ; 

6.  In  Composition; 

7.  In  forming  a  habit  of  tattling ; 

8.  In  breaking  up  careless  habits ; 

9.  In  forming  an  attachment  to  a  friend ; 

10.  In  acquiring  a  love  of  candor ; 

11.  In  cultivating  a  spirit  of  benevolence  ; 

12.  In  becoming  interested  in  Christian  missions 

§  44. — 1.  Enumerate  the  stages  of  the  growth  of  the  spirit 
of  benevolence  in  John  Howard ; 

2.  Of  missionary  zeal  in  Henry  Martyn ; 

3.  Of  the  love  of  painting  in  Benjamin  West ; 

4.  Of  skill  in  writing  in  Benjamin  Franklin ; 

5.  Of  style  in  painting  in  Raphael ; 

6.  Of  science  in  Sir  William  Herschel. 

§  45. — 1.  Trace  the  progress  of  governmental  institutions 
among  the  Jews; 

2.  Of  the  Arts  and  Philosophy  in  Greece  ; 

3.  Parliamentary  Law  in  England; 

4.  Geological  Science; 

5.  The  use  of  Steam-power; 

6.  Architecture ; 

7.  Landscape  Gardening ; 

8.  The  disuse  of  barbarous  punishments  in  civilized  states 

9.  The  Temperance  Reform  ; 

10.  Spirit  of  Christian  Missions  in  modern  times  ; 
11     The  Freedom  of  the  Press. 


38  COMPLEX   NARRATION. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 

COMPLEX      NARRATION. 

§  46.  COMPLEX  NARRATION  exhibits  the  working  of  a 
cause  in  producing  successive  changes. 

§  47.  The  themes,  accordingly,  in  complex  narration, 
are  either : 

1.  Causes ;  or, 

2.  Effects. 

§  48.  The  Law  of  Unity,  requiring  singleness  in  the 
theme,  may  be  violated  in  this  kind  of  composition,  in 
either  of  the  following  ways  : 

1.  By  introducing,  as  themes,  more  than  one  cause  or 
more  than  one  set  of  causes,  or  more  than  one  effect  or 
than  one  set  of  effects  ;  or, 

2.  By  making  sometimes   the   cause  and  sometimes 
the  effect  the  real  theme  in  different  parts  of  the  same 
composition  or  discourse. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  single  cause  may  produce  one  or  many 
effects,  and  that  an  effect  may  be  produced  by  a  single  cause, 
or  by  manifold  uniting  causes.  Hence,  unity  will  not  be 
violated  by  embracing  in  the  theme  all  the  causes  conspiring 
to  one  single  or  general  effect,  or  all  the  effects  produced  by 
one  single  or  complex  cause. 

If,  for  illustration,  I  take,  as  my  theme,  "  The  crusades  as 
a  cause  of  modern  European  civilization,"  I  should  violate 


COMPLEX   NARRATION.  39 

the  law  of  unity,  if  I  brought  in  the  influence  of  the  feudal 
system,  of  free  cities,  of  Christianity,  except  by  way  of  ex- 
planation, or  in  subordination  to  the  main  design,  which  is  to 
exhibit  the  working  of  the  crusades.  I  should  equally  vio- 
late this  law  if  I  anywhere  in  the  narrative,  inverted  the 
process  and  made  the  effect,  viz.,  "  The  civilization  of  Eu- 
rope "  the  theme. 

In  like  manner,  if  I  made  this  my  theme,  viz. :  "  the  civ- 
ilization of  Europe  as  effected  by  the  crusades,"  I  should 
violate  unity,  if  I  brought  in  other  effects,  as  the  strength- 
ening of  the  power  of  the  Sultans,  the  subversion  of  the 
Christian  empire  in  Asia,  and  the  like, 

§  49.  The  Law  of  Selection  in  complex  narrative  re- 
quires that  such  stages  only  of  the  operating  cause  or 
of  the  effect  wrought  be  taken  as  will  best  exhibit  the 
therne. 

This  law  would  be  violated,  if,  in  exhibiting  "  The  influ- 
ence of  the  crusades  on  European  civilization,"  I  should 
bring  in,  as  distinct  and  prominent  points  of  view,  the  fluctu- 
ations of  success  between  the  great  contending  parties,  as 
the  capture  and  recapture  of  Jerusalem,  or  the  merely  tran- 
sient incidents  of  the  crusading  movements,  as  the  conquest 
of  Constantinople,  however  interesting  in  themselves  as  events. 
Such  particulars  only  should  be  selected  in  the  grand  mov- 
ing force  put  in  play  by  the  crusades,  as  will  best  show  how 
it  wrought  on  civilization  ;  as  the  waking  up  of  mind,  the 
attention  turned  upon  the  arts,  the  development  and  expan- 
sion of  the  social  principles,  the  breaking  up  of  defective 
political  institutions,  and  the  like. 

§  50.  The  Law  of  Method  in  complex  narrative,  re- 
quires, 


40  COMPLEX  NARRATION. 

1.  When  the  cause  is  made  the  theme,  that,  if  single, 
the  one  cause  itself  be  exhibited,  working  its  successive 
.effects;  or,  if  there  be  several  uniting  causes  which  it  is 
more  convenient  to  handle  separately,  that  each  be  ex- 
hibited, one  after  the  other,  as  it  works  its  effects  suc- 
cessively ; 

2.  When  the  effect  is   made  the  theme,  that,  if  re- 
garded as  single,  it  be  exhibited  in  connection  with  its 
cause  stage  by  stage,  as  it  is  produced  or  appears  in  the 
order  of  time ;   or,  if  regarded  .as  made  up  of  several 
effects,  that  each  be  unfolded  by  itself,  one  after  an- 
other. 

This  law  would  be  violated,  thus;  if,  in  writing  on  the 
crusades  as  a  cause  of  modern  European  civilization,  I  were 
to  bring  in  the  removal  to  foreign  lands  of  the  uneasy,  turbu- 
lent elements  of  society,  leaving  behind  the  peaceful,  indus- 
trious, frugal  portions  of  the  population  to  prosecute,  undis- 
turbed, the  arts  of  peace,  after  I  had  indicated  the  remoter 
influences  of  the  crusades,  such  as  the  introduction  into  Eu- 
rope of  Oriental  -arts  and  sciences  on  the  return  of  the  cru- 
saders. 

If  I  were  to  take  the  following  as  the  indications  of  the 
working  cause,  the  method  of  presenting  them  would  be 
thus: 

1.  The  crusades  influencing  the  civilization  of  Europe  by 
the  great  awakening  of  mind  they  occasioned  among  all  the 
crusading  nations ; 

2.  By  the  occasion  given  to  the  successful  prosecution  of 
the  arts  of  peace,  and  particularly  of  commerce ; 

3.  By  the  elevation  and  expansion  of  the  social  spirit, 
through  the  flowing  together  of  diverse  nations  and  tribes, 
and  the  intercourse  between  them ; 


COMPLEX   NARRATION.  41 

4.  By  the  weakening  of  the  power  of  the  nobility,  and  the 
corresponding  advancement  of  citizens  ; 

5.  By  the  introduction  into  Europe  of  Oriental  arts  and 
sciences ; 

6.  By   the   new  inspiration   given   to    literature    in   the 
various  forms  of  oratory,  history,  and  poetry. 

Correct  the   faults   in   the    following   plans    in    Complex 
Narration. 

I.     THEME. — Deluge  in  the    Valley  of  the  Dranse,  in  Swit- 
zerland',  in  1818. 

1.  The  waters  of  the  river  Dranse  diminish,  and  nearly 
disappear. 

2.  It  was  ascertained  that  glaciers  had  fallen  across  its 
channel,   and   that  the  waters  were  collecting  for  a  fearful 
inundation,  when  the  barrier  should  give  way. 

3.  A  tunnel  is  attempted  to  draw  off  the  water,  which 
is  successful. 

4.  But  a  new  danger  appears.     The  waters,  as  they  are 
drawn  off,  gradually  wear  away  the  base  of  the  barrier,  which 
finally  gives  way ;  and  the  lake  is  drained  in  half  an  hour. 

5.  The  water   sweeps   down  the   valley,    carrying   away 
every  bridge — one   at  Mauvoisin,  that  is  ninety  feet  above 
the  river,  and  four  hundred  cottages,  besides  trees,  fences, 
cattle,  and  over  thirty  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley. 

6.  Great  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  evil.     Signal 
stations  were   erected ;    sentinels  placed  along  the  heights, 
watchfires  prepared,  and  cannon  loaded,  to  give  instant  alarm. 

7.  But  the  people  had  become  hardened  to  the  danger ; 
and  thirty-four  were  caught  by  the  descending  waters. 

8.  Thirty-four   days  were  consumed  in  constructing  the 
tunnel ;  gangs  of  fifty  miners,  working  alternately  night  and 
day. 

4 


42  COMPLEX   NARRATION. 

9.  When   at  last  the   rush   commenced,  the   tunnel  was 
found  to  be  too  small  to  carry  oif  the  accumulating  water. 

10.  It  soon,   however,  wore   a  channel   sufficiently  large ; 
nd  the  water  was  passing  off  without  danger,  till  the  bar- 
ier  itself  gave  way. 

11.  This  was  caused  by  the  base  of  the  barrier  being  worn 
way  by  the  rushing  water. 

12.  In  half  an   hour,   530,000,000   cubic   feet   of  water 
rushed  down  the  valley. 

13.  The  velocity  of  the  torrent  was  sixteen  miles  an  hour. 

II.     THEME. —  The  Fall  of  a  Mountain  in  Switzerland. 

1.  The  fall  took  place,  September  third,   1806,  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  evening. 

2.  In    less  than  four  minutes,  three  villages  were  com- 
pletely overwhelmed,  and  two  others  partially. 

3.  The  rush   of  the   earth   and   stones   was  more  rapid 
than  that  of  lava. 

4.  The  mass  spread  in  every  direction,  and  buried  a  space 
of  charming  country  more  than  three  miles  square. 

5.  The  mountain  carried  away  in  its  descent,  trees,  rocks, 
and  houses. 

6.  A  portion  fell  into  the  lake  of  Lowertz,  and  filled  one- 
fifth  of  its  basin. 

7.  The  mountain  is  composed  of  brittle,  calcareous  earth 
and  pudding-stone.     It  rested  on  an  inclined  bed. 

8.  The  main  road  was  completely  blocked  up. 

9.  Fifteen  hundred  persons  were  buried  alive, 

10.  The  quantity  of  earth  was  sufficient  to  form  a  large 
hill  in  the  center  of  the  valley. 

11.  Two  islands  in  the  lake  of  Lowertz,  and   the  village 
of  Leven,  were  submerged  by  the  swell  of  the  lake. 


COMPLEX   NARRATION.  43 

III.     THEME. —  The   Activity   of  the  Human  Mind  at  the 
Beginning  of  the  Sixteenth  Century. 

1.  Heresies  had  been  ever  springing  up,  keeping  alive 
the  spirit  of  inquiry  and  speculation. 

2.  The  court  of  Koine  was  not  more  tyrannical,  nor  were 
there  more  or  worse  abuses  in  the  Church  than  previously. 

3.  The    human  mind  had  been  accumulating  results  for 
several  centuries,  which  furnished  occasions  for  fresh  inquiries. 

4.  The  schools  instituted  by  the  Church,  had  produced 
men  of  thought  and  intellectual  vigor,  who  began  to  wish 
to  think  for  themselves. 

5.  Literature  and  the  arts  had  been  revived. 

6.  The  struggles  of  the  Church  with  heretics  kept  alive 
examination  and  mental  exertion. 

7.  Philosophical  opinions  had  been  put  forward  and  dis- 
cussed, fostering  intellectual  activity. 

§  51.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  COMPLEX  NARRA- 
TION. 

1. — Single  Causes  with  Single  Effects. 
In  this  class  of  compositions,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is 
to  get  a  clear  and  steady  notion  of  the  theme,  as  a  cause 
working  its  single  effect.  We  will  take,  as  a  theme  for 
illustration,  "The  Destruction  of  Pompeii."  We  first  seize 
firm  hold  of  the  cause — an  eruption  of  Vesuvius,  and  then 
follow  its  working  on  the  fated  town.  The  introduction  will 
contain  what  is  necessary  for  a  better  understanding  of  the 
narration,  as  the  situation,  size,  population  of  the  town ;  the 
character  and  history  of  the  eruptions  of  Vesuvius;  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  commencement  of  the  particular 
fatal  eruption  which  is  to  be  narrated.  Then,  the  proper 
body  of  the  composition  will  consist  of  a  narrative  of  the 


14  COMPLEX   NARRATION. 

actual  eruption  of  the  stones,  cinders,  and  ashes  from  the 
volcano ;  the  successive  showers,  day  after  day ;  the  burning 
of  roofs ;  the  blocking  up  of  doors  and  passages,  and  streets; 
the  destruction  of  life,  of  property,  of  buildings,  of  walls; 
and  the  final  burying  of  all  under  deep  deposits  of  cinders 
and  ashes.  The  outlines  would  be  arranged  thus : 

1.  Introduction,  notices  of  the  town  and  of  Vesuvius. 

2.  The  first  eruption  of  stones,  etc. 

3.  The  successive  eruptions,  day  after  day. 

4.  The  burning  of  roofs,  and  blocking  up  of  streets. 

5.  The  destruction  of  life  and  property. 

6.  The  burying  of  the  ill-fated  town. 

2.  Single  Causes  with  Manifold  Effects. 
In  this  class  of  themes,  the  cause  is  the  theme  on  which 
the  mind  is  to  be  kept  fixed,  and  which  is  to  be  set  forth  as 
it  produces  its  successive  effects.  If  the  theme  be  the  Erup- 
tions of  Vesuvius  in  the  year  79,  they  would  be  exhibited  in 
their  beginnings  of  smoke  and  flame ;  the  emission  of  stones, 
and  cinders,  and  ashes  ;  and  the  final  eruption  of  lava;  each 
stage  of  the  occurrence  being  marked  with  its  own  peculiari- 
ties of  effect:  on  the  shape  and  appearance  of  the  mountain 
itself;  on  the  surrounding  land  and  adjacent  sea;  in  the  des- 
olation of  cultivated  fields,  gardens,  hamlets,  villages,  towns, 
buildings;  in  convulsions  of  the  sea,  and  the  destruction  of 
life. 

3.  Single  Effects  from  Single  Causes. 

In  treating  the  same  theme  that  has  been  already  used, 
"  the  destruction  of  Pompeii,"  we  here  grasp  firmly  the  theme 
as  effect,  instead  of  cause  as  before.  We  first  give  a  brief 
description  of  the  town,  its  site,  its  population,  its  condition 


COMPLEX  NARRATION.  45 

at  the  time  of  the  eruption,  arid  particularly  in  its  relations  to 
Vesuvius,  as  its  vicinity  and  direction,  the  feelings  of  the  citi- 
zens as  to  their  security  from  its  convulsions,  and  the  like,  in 
order  properly  to  introduce  the  theme.  When  we  have  thus 
fully  introduced  the  theme  to  the  mind  addressed,  we  then 
begin  upon  the  body  of  the  narrative  itself,  detailing  the  first 
shock  to  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants  ;  the  following  showers 
of  ashes,  of  rain,  of  mud,  hot  water,  and  cinders;  the  tum- 
bling in  of  roof«;  the  choking  up  of  streets  and  doorways; 
and  after  this  general  view  present  successively  the  distinct 
result*  in  the  burying  of  walls,  streets,  public  buildings,  shops, 
dwellings,  with  particulars  of  individual  lives  destroyed. 

4.   Single  Effects  from  Manifold  Causes. 

In  this  case,  after  the  theme  is  distinctly  and  firmly  grasped 
as  an  effect,  the  first  step  wiU  be  to  trace  out  the  several  con- 
spiring causes.  The  theme  tfill  then  be  presented  as  it  flows 
from  the  working  of  these  respective  causes  in  their  order. 
Care  will  be  requisite  that  ever  the  theme  as  the  effect  be 
held  up  prominent  as  such,  so  that,  in  presenting  the  several 
causes,  the  mind  shall  not  run  off  into  a  practical  treatment 
of  any  one  of  them  as  if  it  were  the  principal  theme. 

If  "The  American  Revolution  "  be  taken  as  the  theme  to 
be  treated  as  an  effect  from  manifold  causes,  after  the  more 
general  influences  leading  to  this  result  proceeding  from  the 
remoteness  of  the  mother  land,  the  free  spirit  of  the  colonies, 
the  civil  organization  and  strength  of  the  colonies,  there  might 
be  presented,  in  the  proper  order  of  time,  the  working  of  the 
particular  acts  of  provocation  on  the  part  of  the  mother  gov- 
ernment, as  the  restrictions  on  colonial  commerce ;  the  impo- 
sition of  direct  internal  taxes;  the  Stamp  act;  the  duties  on 
tea,  paper,  etc.;  the  Boston  Post  act;  the  abrogation  of  col- 
onial  charters ;  the  introduction  of  military  forces,  etc. 

It  will  be  observed  that  something  of  the  4 nature  of  the 


46  COMPLEX   NARRATION. 

process  of  analysis  enters  into  the  explanation  where  mora 
than  one  cause  or  more  than  one  effect  are  represented.  The 
complex  cause,  or  the  complex  effect,  is  resolved  into  its  parts, 
which  are  treated  separately. 

For  this  reason,  and  also  on  account  of  the  greater  difficulty 
of  handling  such  themes,  it  may  be  wise  in  some  cases  to 
postpone  exercises  in  complex  narration  till  after  the  other 
processes  of  explanation  have  been  studied. 

§  52.  EXERCISES  IN  COMPLEX  NARRATIVE. 

1.  Trace  out  the  working  of  the  cause — the  solar  heat — • 
in  producing  the  Trade  Winds  ;   the  Monsoons ;   Land  and 
Sea  Breezes. 

2.  The  transmission  of  telegrams  ; 

3.  The  propulsion  of  a  boat  by  steam  ; 

4.  The  influence  of  a  training  in  the  Egyptian  court  on 
the  character  of  Moses ; 

5.  The  Babylonian  captivity  on  the  Jewish  people : 

6.  The  ambition  of  Napoleon   on  the  condition  oi   the 
French  nation ; 

7.  The  Baconian  method  on  the  advancement  of  scienaa; 

8.  The  power  of  enthusiasm  in  securing  success ; 

9.  The  love  of  excitement  on  character ; 
10.  The  passion  for  conquest  in  Home. 

§  53.  1.  Trace  the  working  out  of  the  effect  in  the  warm 
ing  of  buildings  by  air  passed  over  steam -heated  surfaces. 

2.  The  deposit  of  frost; 

3.  The  rise  of  smoke  in  chimneys ; 


or  TH« 


DESCRIPTION. 

4.  The  growth  of  a  tree  ; 

5.  The  corruption  of  manners  under  the  influence  of  the 
court  of  Charles  I; 

6.  The  skepticism  and  irreligion  of  France,  as  occasioned 
by  the  revolution  of  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  ; 

7.  The  advance  of  political  freedom  under  free  religious 
institutions  ; 

8.  The  culture  of  taste  from  the  study  of  forms  of  beauty 
m  nature  and  art. 

9.  The  growth  of  uncontrollable  passion  from  indulgence. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DESCRIPTION. 

§  54.  DESCRIPTION  is  that  process  of  Explanation 
which  exhibits  its  theme  under  the  relations  of  space. 

§  55.  The  theme  in  description  must  accordingly  be 
an  object  or  scene  that  may  be  thought  of,  not  as  be- 
coming or  changing,  but  as  simply  existing  or  being ; 
as  a  field,  a  star,  a  tree,  an  empire,  an  error. 

§  56.  The  Law  of  Unity  in  Description  requires, 

1.  That  the  theme  be  but  one  object  or  scene,  how- 
ever complex ; 

2.  That  the  theme  be  exhibited  under  the  relations 
of  space  as  the  controlling  principles. 

§  57.  The  Law  of  Selection  requires, 
1.  That  those  points  of  view  be  taken  from  which  the 
theme  may  be  best  surveyed ; 


48  SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION. 

2.  That  the  boundaries  or  limiting  lines  run  from 
these  selected  points  of  view,  be  such  as  will  best  map 
out  the  theme  to  the  eye. 

§  58.  The  Law  of  Method  requires  that  the  points  of 
view  that  are  selected  and  the  lines  of  description  thas 
are  run,  be  presented  in  the  order  of  relative  nearness 
or  vicinity. 

§  59.  The  Law  of  Completeness  requires  that  so  many 
points  of  view  be  taken  and  the  lines  of  description  be 
so  fully  run,  that  the  reader  shall  be  enabled  to  fill  out 
in  his  own  mind  a  map  or  picture  of  the  object  or  theme, 
full  and  entire. 

§  60.  Description  is  of  two  kinds,  SIMPLE  and  AB- 
STRACT. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SIMPLE     DESCRIPTION. 

§  61.  SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION  exhibits  some  sensible 
object  or  scene  existing,  or  imagined  to  exist  in  actual 
space. 

§  62.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  SIMPLE  DESCRIP- 
TION. 

The  theme  here  will  be  something  that  is  to  be  repre- 
sented as  it  is  at  some  one  moment  of  time,  as  fixed  and  not 
a?  in  change  or  motion.  It  must  be  a  place,  a  scene,  or  an 
object  that  can  appear  to  the  eye. 


SIMPLE    DESCRIPTION.  49 

The^irst  thing  to  be  done,  then,  is  to  form  a  clear  thought 
of  the  theme  as  such  place  or  object. 

Moreover,  if  it  have  a  number  of  parts,  or  if  it  be  of  irreg- 
ular outline,  care  should  be  taken,  at  the  outset,  to  think 
of  it  as  one  complex  whole,  that  the  law  of  unity  may  be 
readily  observed. 

If  the  theme  be  a  place,  as  it  is  but  a  part  of  space,  it  will 
be  sufficient,  in  order  to  describe  it  fully,  to  indicate,  first,  its 
direction  and  distance  in  reference  to  some  other  point  in 
space  that  is  known,  and  then  present  its  boundaries.  As 
there  are  three  dimensions  in  space, — length,  breadth,  and 
hight, — when  the  point  is  indicated  at  which  we  begin  to 
describe,  and  then  its  relations  in  those  three  particulars  are 
presented,  it  is  fully  described,  so  far  as  it  is  a  place  simply, 
or  a  part  of  space. 

If  "Malta,"  thus,  be  taken  as  the  theme,  the  description 
would  represent  it,  first,  in  its  relations — its  bearings  and 
distances — in  reference  to  some  place  supposed  to  be  known, 
and  would  then  give  its  boundaries.  We  may  say,  then,  that 
it  is  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean,  about  forty-four  miles 
in  circumference,  in  latitude  thirty-six  degrees  north  of  the 
equator,  and  in  longitude  fourteen  degrees  east  of  the  meri- 
dian of  Greenwich,  and  lying  about  one  third  the  way  from 
Sicily  to  Africa,  being  about  sixty  miles  from  the  former,  and 
one  hundred  and  eighty  from  the  latter.  It  rises  perpendic- 
ularly from  the  water  on  the  southern  shore,  but  more  grad- 
uajly  on  the  other  sides,  to  a  hight  of  somewhat  less  than  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  outline  of  the 
island  is  irregular,  being  broken  by  deep  inlets  or  coves, 
which  form  good  harbors  for  ships,  particularly  on  the 
south-eastern  coast.  If  the  description  were  extended  into 
further  details,  which  should  give  the  actual  outline  of  the 
coast,  the  headlands,  and  the  indentations,  as  well  as  the 
particular  undulations  of  the  surface,  with  courses  and  dis- 


50  SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION. 

tanccs  and  hights,  it  would  be  complete,  so  far  as  a  descrip- 
tion of  it  as  a  part  of  space  is  concerned. 

But  such  a  description  would  be  only  a  mapping  of  tht 
theme — a  representation  of  the  outlines.  A  fuller  description 
might  embrace  aU  that  would  present  itself  to  the  eye  of  an 
observer,  as  the  character  of  the  soil,  and  of  its  products 
the  population,  the  cities,  towns,  and  villages ;  the  fortifica 
tions,  and  all  artificial  structures.  Although  this  part  of 
the  process  will  be  better  understood,  when  the  next  process 
in  explanation — analysis — is  studied,  it  will  not  be  inexpe- 
dient to  bring  in  this  part  of  the  full  explanation  into  these 
exercises  in  description. 

What  is  of  first  importance  here,  however,  is  to  see  that 
the  habit  be  formed,  of  looking  at  everything  in  description, 
as  if  it  were  set  out  before  the  eye.  The  image  or  picture 
of  whatever  object  is  to  be  described,  should  be  distinctly 
formed,  and  kept  before  the  eye  of  the  mind ;  and  then,  in 
commencing  the  description,  some  fixed  point  should  be 
taken,  and  from  that,  the  eye  should  be  passed  in  imagina- 
tion over  the  boundaries, — the  length,  breadth,  and  hight, — 
in  regular  transition,  till  the  place  is  passed,  entirely  over. 
So  much  should  be  said,  as  will  set  this  image  distinctly 
before  the  eye  of  the  reader.  One  of  the  leading  criticisms 
on  the  composition  will  be :  is  the  description  so  complete 
and  accurate,  that  the  reader  can  readily  imagine  it  to  him- 
self without  further  aid  than  the  description  gives  him  ? 

After  the  boundaries  have  thus  been  passed  over  in  order, 
and  fully,  and  have  been  set  down  in  the  description,  then 
the  eye  can  be  passed  over  the  contents  embraced,  and  such 
features  can  be  taken  up  as  the  object  of  the  description 
shall  require,  and  will  be  treated  in  the  same  general  manner. 
Thus,  the  harbors ;  the  hills  and  valleys ;  the  productive  and 
unproductive  portions  of  the  island  ;  the  terraces,  the  mounds, 
and  the  fortifications ;  the  cities,  the  towns,  and  the  villages ; 


SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION.  51 

the  streets  in  the  cities,  the  buildings,  both  public  and  pri- 
vate;  the  inhabitants, — the  original  Maltese,  and  the  immi- 
grants under  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  and  during  the 
period  of  the  British  rule ;  the  animals  and  plants ;  the 
languages,  the  pursuits,  the  arts,  the  general  condition,  gov- 
ernment, laws,  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  may  be  taken 
up  in  a  more  extended  description  of  Malta,  one  after 
another,  just  as  they  would  appear  to  the  eye,  if  looking 
down  upon  the  island,  and  observing  one  thing  after  another 
in  regular  transition. 

In  the  description  of  other  objects,  similar  directions  may 
be  given.  The  first  thing  is,  to  set  the  object  that  is  to  be 
described  before  the  mind's  eye  in  all  the  outlines  and 
features,  which  it  is  the  design  of  the  composition  to  repre- 
sent. This  direction  is  enforced,  on  the  principle,  that  we 
can  not  distinctly  communicate  to  others  what  we  do  not 
clearly  understand  ourselves.  It  may  require  a  little  effort 
at  first  to  form  this  habit  of  imagining  or  picturing  objects; 
but  it  is  of  the  first  importance,  in  order  to  good  writing; 
and  no  labor  can  be  accounted  as  ill-spent,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  acquire  it.  It  is  as  necessary  to  good  description 
in  language,  as  to  good  painting  or  drawing.  With  the 
image  or  picture  of  the  object  thus  in  the  mind,  the  de- 
scription should  commence  at  some  one  point  that  can  most 
easily  be  indicated  to  the  mind  of  the  reader.  Suppose  that 
the  theme  be  "  an  elm-tree ;"  and  it  is  proposed  to  give,  not, 
a  scientific  or  botanical,  but  only  a  popular  and  general 
description  of  it  as  an  object  in  a  landscape.  The  first 
thing,  then,  after  obtaining  a  distinct  image  of  it  in  the 
mind,  will  be  to  indicate  its  position  in  relation  to  other 
objects  in  the  landscape.  It  rises,  we  will  say,  in  front  of 
a  group  of  smaller  forest  trees  which  lend  to  it  stateliness 
and  majesty.  It  is  a  tall,  straight  trunk,  till  it  reaches  a 
hight  above  the  topmost  branches  of  the  group  behind  it, 


52  SIMPLE    DESCRIPTION. 

where  it  sends  out  long,  pendulous  boughs,  that  form  for  it 
a  head  large,  gracefully  arching,  and  decked  with  sweeping 
foliage.  Passing  from  the  outer  shape,  next  the  form  of 
its  houghs,  the  shape  and  hue  of  its  leaves,  and  the  light 
and  shade  of  its  deep,  cavernous  masses  of  foliage  may  be 
represented,  one  after  another,  and  in  the  order  of  position.  .. 
Proceeding  further,  its  uses  may  be  pointed  out,  as  object 
of  study  for  the  culture  of  taste,  for  pleasing  contemplation ; 
as  home  for  birds  of  song  and  fascinating  plumage ;  as  shel- 
ter, through  its  extended  shades,  from  summer  heats;  as 
symbol  and  expression  of  the  character  of  those  who,  having 
planted  and  nourished  it,  enjoy  its  comfort  and  its  beauty. 
The  first  exercises  may  be  confined  to  the  mere  delinea- 
tion of  the  theme.  The  point  from  which  the  description 
begins,  and  the  outlines  run  from  this  point  alone,  may  be 
indicated,  so  that  an  intelligent  introduction  may  be  secured 
to  this  kind  of  representation.  The  criticisms  will  then  be 
in  answer  to  such  questions  as  these : 

1.  Is  the  theme  distinctly  presented  as  single  ? 

2.  Is  it  presented  throughout,  under  the  relations  of  space? 

3.  Is  the  best  point  for  beginning  selected,  and  are  the 
outlines  run  from  it  the  most  fitting  to  convey  an  idea  of 
the  theme? 

4.  Are  all  presented  in  the  order  of  nearness  or  vicinity  ? 

5.  Are  the  delineations  complete  ? 

When  the  mind  has  become  familiarized  with  the  general 
nature  of  the  process,  exercises  which  embrace,  together  with 
this  mapping  or  delineation  of  the  theme,  the  filling  up  with 
details  and  contents,  may  be  taken,  and  similar  criticisms  be 
applied  to  them,  as  to  the  general  outlines. 

Exercises  on  local  themes,  or  in  the  description  of  places, 
should  precede  those  on  objects  in  space ;  as  the  nature  of 
the  process  in  delineating  them  will  be  more  readily  under- 
stood, and  the  procedure  is  more  simple  and  familiar.' 


SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION.  53 

§  63.  Correct  the  faults  in  the  following  descriptions. 

I.     THEME. — My  Glass-Room. 

1.  My  class-room  is  nearly  square. 

2.  It  is  dark  and  unattractive,  having  but  two  small  win- 
(lows  on  the  east  side. 

3.  It  is  twenty-four  feet  long  and  twenty-two  feet  wide. 

4.  It  is  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  building. 

5.  It  is  a  low  room,  being  only  nine  feet  from  the  floor. 

6.  It  has  a  recess  on  the  west  side. 

7.  The  walls  are  plastered  on  brick. 

II.     THEME. — Boundaries  of  Ohio. 

1.  Ohio  is  one  of  the  south-western  States. 

2.  It  is  bounded  by  New  York  on  the  east,  by  Michigan 
on  the  north,  by  Virginia  on  the  South. 

3.  Virginia  once  embraced  Ohio  as  a  part  of  the  territory 
granted  to  the  colony  by  charter  from  the  crown  of  England, 
but  ceded  its  right  to  the  soil  and  jurisdiction  to  the  United 
States,  in  1784. 

4.  Indiana  lies  west  of  Ohio,  and  was  a  part  of  the  terri- 
tory ceded  by  Virginia. 

III.     THEME.—  The  Aral  Sea. 

1.  The  Aral  Sea  is  called  the  Island  Sea,  because  of  the 
islands  which  abound  in  its  shallow  waters. 

2.  It  is  situated  in  western  Asia. 

3.  It  is,  next  to  the  Caspian  Sea,  the  largest  internal  sea 
on  the  Eastern  Continent,  being  about  270  miles  long,  and 
130  miles  broad. 

4.  It  is  of  an  irregular  oval  shape,  and,  with  the  long  and 


54  SIMPLE    DESCRIPTION. 

narrow  lake  Laudan  at  its-  south  -western  extremity,  resembles, 
in  figure,  a  pan  with  a  handle. 

5.  It  is  150  to  200  miles  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  its 
waters  are  supplied  from  the  rivers  Sihon  and  Oxus. 

6.  The  sea  abounds  with  fish. 

7.  Its  waters  are  saltish,  but  are  drank  freely  by  cattle. 

8.  It  lies  in  a  depression  between  the  plateaus  of  Khiva 
and  Kirghis. 

9.  It  may  be  navigated  by  small  vessels. 

IY.     THEME. — Bonnivard's  Prison. 

1.  The  prison  in  which  the  faithful  Bonnivard  was  so 
long  confined,  was  one  of  the  cells  in  the  Castle  of  Chll- 
lon. 

2.  The  castle  stands  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  is  washed 
on  three  sides  by  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

3.  The  cell  itself  is  forty  feet  long,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
wide,  and  fifteen  feet  high. 

4.  Near  the  top  of  the  side  wall  are  several  narrow  slits, 
which  admit  air  and  light. 

5.  Rings  are  fastened  to  some  of  the  pillars  in  the  cell,  to 
one  of  which  it  is  said  Bonnivard's  chain  was  attached. 

6.  The  room  is  traversed  by  a  row  of  stone  pillars,  seven 
in  number,  besides  one  half  sunk  in  the  wall. 

7.  The   pillar  to  which  Bonnivard's  ring  is  attached  is 
worn  smooth. 

8.  The  pavement  is  worn  as  if  by  footsteps. 

9.  The  cell  is  in  the  basement  of  the  castle,  but  not,  as 
poets  picture,  below  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

10.  Lord  Byron  has  left  his  name  carved  on  the  pillar  to 
which  Bonnivard  was  fastened. 

11.  It  is  a  dismal  dungeon,  and  its  horrors  have  been  ter- 
rifically depicted  by  that  great  poet. 


SIMPLE    DESCRIPTION.  DO 

V.     THEME. — Hall  of  Cedric  the  Saxon. 

1.  It  was  of  a  higiit  greatly  disproportioned  to. the  vasi 
length  and  breadth. 

2.  There  was  a  fireplace  at  either  end. 

3.  A  long  table  stood  across  the  hall  at  the  upper  end ; 
from  the  middle  of  which  another,  much   longer,  extended 
down  the  the  lower  part  of  the  hall ;  the  whole  resembling  in 
form  the  letter  T. 

4.  The  roof  was  composed  of  beams  and  rafters.     It  was 
blackened  by  the  smoke  that  escaped  from  the  ill-constructed 
fireplaces  and  chimneys. 

5.  The  sides  of  the  lower  part  were  hung  with  imple- 
ments of  war  and  of  the  chase.     The  walls  of  the  upper  part 
were  covered  with  hangings  or  curtains ;   and  a  canopy  of 
cloth  was  fastened  above  the  upper  table. 

6.  At  each  corner  of  the  room  were  doors  leading  to  other 
apartments  of  the  extensive  building. 

7.  The  floor  was  composed  of  earth  mixed  with  lime. 

8.  It  was  raised  for  about  one-fourth  of  the  length  of  the 
apartment.     This  part  was  called  the  dais. 

9.  At  the  center  of  the  upper  table  were  two  massive 
chairs,  elevated  above  the  rest,  with  ivory  footstools,  for  the 
master  and  mistress  of  tli£  family. 

VI.     THEME.— Pekin. 

1.  Pekin  may  be  called  a  double  city. 

2.  There  are  in  fact  two  continuous  cities  inclosed  by 
separate  walls. 

3.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

4.  The  northern  part  of  the  double  city,  called  the  Tartar 
or  Imperial  city,  contains  three  inclosures,  one  within  an- 
other. 


56  SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION. 

5.  The  outer  inclosure  is  occupied  by  Chinese  traders. 

.6.  The  second  is  called  the  August  City.  Its  walls  are 
six  miles  in  circumference,  and  are  entered  by  four  large 
gates. 

7.  The  inner  inclosure  is  called  the  Forbidden  City.     It 
is  two  miles  in  circuit,  and  is  appropriated  to  the  Imperial 
family. 

8.  The  circuit  of  the  entire   double  city  is   twenty-five 
miles. 

9.  The  population  is  estimated  to  be  2,000,000. 

10.  The  Chinese  are  a  literary  people,  and  show  their  es- 
teem for  learning  in  their  location  of  the  National  College 
of  China  in  the  August  City. 

11.  Pekin  is  situated  in  a  sandy  plain,  between  the  river 
Peiho  and  its  tributary  Hoen-ho.     The  Peiho  is  navigable 
eighty  miles  from  its  mouth. 

12.  It  is  one  hundred  miles  from  the  Yellow  Sea. 


VII.     THEME. — A  Wren's  Nest. 

1.  A  wren's  nest  was  hid  by  a  broad  leaf  of  a  climbing 
primrose. 

2.  Below  it  were  two  or  three  roses  in  brightest  bloom. 

3.  It  was  difficult  to  reach,  as  the  wary  bird  had  built  its 
home  on  the  top  of  the  trunk  of  an  oak  that  had  been  lopped 
high  up  just  above  its  lowest  branches. 

4.  The  nest  had  no  apparent  opening,  as  the  entrance 
was  concealed  behind  the  leaves. 

5.  The  oak  stood  in  a  thicket  of  trees,  now  in  their  green- 
est foliage. 

6.  An  additional  protection  to  the  nestlings  was  the  soft 
lining  within,  carefully  selected  and  laid  by  the  parent  bird. 

7.  Its  joyous  carols  over  its  snug  and  beautiful  home  \vevc 
answered  in  the  gentle  murmurs  of  a  streamlet  near. 


SIMPLE    DESCRIPTION.  57 

VIII.     THEME.— A  Book. 

1.  A  book  lay  on  the  table. 

2.  It  was  a  large  octavo  volume. 

3.  Its  edges  had  been  originally  of  rich  gilt,  but  had  lost 
their  luster  from  much  handling. 

4.  The  cover  was  black,  and  heavily  embossed. 

5.  It  was  a  thick  volume,  and  it  was  apparent  some  parts 
of  it  had  been  much  more  used  than  others. 

6.  Other  volumes  lay  beside  it;  but  its  position  and  gen- 
eral appearance  at  once  made  it  prominent. 

7.  There  is  a  good  maxim :   Beware  of  the  man  of  one 
book.     This  volume  indicated  that  some  one  had  practically 
observed  the  maxim. 

8.  The  volume  was  upon  the  side  of  the  table  next  the 
settee,  placed  there  as  if  for  convenient  use. 

IX.     THEME. — Bridge  over  the  Tweed. 

1.  The  bridge  had  a  double  draw;  each  opening  from  the 
center  of  the  river,  and  closing  upon  the  opposite  banks. 

2.  On  each  bank  was  a  strong  abutment. 

3.  Upon  a  rock  in  the  center  of  the  current  was  built  a  solid 
piece  of  masonry  to  the  hight  of  the  abutments  on  the  banks. 

4.  The  bridge  stood  at  a  place  where  the  river  was  con- 
tracted. 

5.  On  the  pier  in  the  middle  of  the  river  a  tower  three 
stories  in  hight  was  constructed. 

6.  The  bridge-keeper  lived  with  his  family  in  the  second 
and  third  stories  of  the  tower. 

7.  As  the  draws  fell  from  the  center  pier,  he  could  con« 
trol  at  pleasure  the  passage  of  the  stream. 

8.  The  lower  story  of  the  tower  consisted  only  of  an  arch- 
Way  or  passage  through  the  building. 


58  SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION. 

9.  Over  either  entrance  to  this  archway  hung  the  draw 
bridge  connecting  it  with  the  opposite  abutment. 


X.     THEME. — The  Mongolian  Race. 

The  Mongolian  race  is  characterized  by 

1.  A  feminine  aspect ; 

2.  A  rounded  contour  of  head  ; 

3.  A  receding  forehead ; 

4.  An  arched,  but  not  prominent  nose ; 

5.  A  brown  complexion  ; 

6.  Thick  lips; 

7.  A  beardless  chin ; 

8.  Straight  hair ; 

9.  An  oblique  eye  ; 

10.  Locality  in  all  climates ; 

11.  Melancholic  temperament; 

12.  Practical  Intellect ; 

13.  Lack  of  enterprise  and  culture. 

§  64.  EXERCISES  IN  SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION. 

I. — 1.  Bound  France; 

2.  Wales ; 

3.  Italy; 

4.  Spain. 

5.  Give  the  outlines  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea ; 

6.  The  Caspian  Sea; 

7.  The  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

8.  Fix  the  position  and  give  the  outlines  of  Lake  Tit- 
icaca ; 


SIMPLE   DESCRIPTION.  59 

9.  The  Lake  of  Geneva  ; 

10.  Loch  Lomond. 

11.  Give  the  position,  the  outlines,  the  elevation,  and  the 
character  of  the  surface  of  Deccan ; 

12.  The  Table-land  of  Thibet ; 

13.  The  Plateau  of  Iran; 

14.  The  Table-land  of  Brazil ; 

15.  Mount  Etna; 

16.  Mount  Hecla ; 

17.  The  Himmalaya  mountains  ; 

18.  The  Plain  of  Siberia; 

19.  The  Llanos  of  the  Orinoco  ; 

20.  The  Desert  of  Sahara. 

21.  Describe  in  its  position,  outlines,  and   elevation,  the 
City  of  Rome ; 

22.  The  City  of  Mexico ; 

23.  Ancient  Nineveh. 

II. — 1.  Describe,  in  respect  to  its  situation,  outlines,  and 
hight,  St.  Paul's  Church  in  London ; 

2.  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Home ; 

3.  The  Capitol  at  Washington ; 

4.  Some  known  Oak-tree  ; 

5.  Willow-tree ; 

6.  Pine-tree ; 

7.  The  house  I  live  in ; 

8.  The  house  I  visited ; 

9.  The  nearest  cabin  or  hovel  of  penury. 


60  ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION. 

III. — 1.  Describe  in  its  position,  outlines,  elevation;  ita 
divisions  of  land  and  water,  mountain  and  valley,  town  and 
country,  the  Island  of  Great  Britain ; 

2.  The  Spanish  Peninsula ; 

3.  The.  Island  of  Cuba. 

4.  Describe  in  its  geographical  features,  its  vegetable  and 
animal  products,  and  its  population — its  artificial  structures, 
commerce,  religion,  intelligence,  and  government,  the  king- 
dom of  France ; 

5.  The  Canton  of  Geneva ; 

6.  The  Empire  of  Brazil ; 

7.  The  Sandwich  Islands. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ABSTRACT     DESCRIPTION. 

§  65.  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION  exhibits  some  inward 
or  spiritual  object  conceived  of  under  the  relations  of 
space. 

§  66.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  ABSTRACT  DESCRIP- 
TION. 

Here,  as  in  abstract  narration,  the  states  of  the  mind  or 
objects  that  do  not  appear  in  sensible  form,  are  represented 
through  the  symbols  and  images  of  external  and  sensible 
things. 

The  theme,  then,  in  the  first  place,  must  bo  such  as  can  be 


ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION.  61 

thought  or  imagined  under  the  relations  or  analogies  of  space. 
It  will  conduce  greatly  to  the  effect  of  description  if  the  writer 
actually  form  a  picture  to  his  own  mind  of  his  theme,  and 
then  endeavor  to  transfer  that  picture,  in  suitable  modes  of 
description,  to  the  mind  of  the  reader.  This  habit  of  forming 
images  of  the  theme  as  if  existing  in  outward  space,  although 
the  theme,  in  its  own  nature,  as  abstract  and  spiritual,  is, 
strictly  speaking,  incapable  of  such  relations,  is  yet  invited 
and  encouraged  by  the  very  nattfre  of  language,  and  by  our 
customary  modes  of  thinking.  The  mind  naturally  delights 
in  putting  forth  its  thoughts  into  these  sensible  forms,  as  the 
rich  pleasures  of  the  imagination  attest.  The  habit  of  thus 
conceiving  or  thinking  abstract  themes  in  sensible  forms,  will 
not  only  better  insure  accurate  and  intelligible  representations, 
but  also  will  lead  to  a  free  command  of  symbolical  or  pictur- 
ing language  and  style  in  the  expression  of  thought,  in  which 
the  chief  power  of  brilliant  and  impressive  writing  consists. 
When  this  image  or  picture  is  formed,  the  procedure  will  be 
entirely  analogous  to  that  in  simple  description. 

The  process  may  be  illustrated  in  a  description  of  the  moral 
disposition  of  "  Fortitude." 

We  must  first  fix  its  geographical  position,  so  to  speak — 
its  latitude  and  longitude — in  order  that  we  may  have  some 
point  fixed  and  determined  from  which  we  may  start  with 
our  process.  Fortitude,  we  say  then,  lies  in  our  moral  na- 
ture, among  our  moral  dispositions.  If  we  now  picture  to 
our  minds  this,  our  moral  nature,  with  its  dispositions  as  spread 
out  before  our  eyes,  with  its  departments  arranged  with  refer- 
ence to  the  objects  which  the  dispositions  respect,  we  shall 
have  presented  to  us  at  once,  the  precise  position  of  fortitude. 
Fortitude  respects — looks  out  on — evils  to  be  borne.  And 
we  can  now  run  the  boundaries.  These  evils  are,  on  the  sev- 
eral sides,  bodily  ills  and  mental  anguish.  These  are  the  land 
and  water  boundaries  respectively.  We  look  for  the  third 


62  ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION. 

dimension,  which  is  here  depth  and  hight.  under  which  form 
strength  or  intensity  of  principle  is  appropriately  represented, 
and  we  find  that  it  rests  on  conscience  and  rises  with  firm- 
ness of  purpose  and  intelligence.  If  now,  after  this  mapping 
out  of  the  theme,  we  proceed  to  survey  the  contents  of  the 
field  thus  generally  delineated,  we  see  its  uses  and  its  beauty, 
in  manifold  details  of  blessings  which  it  works  to  the  pos- 
sessor, to  other  individuals,  and  to  communities,  and  of  spe- 
cific features  of  excellence  and  loveliness. 

It  is  manifest  that  at  each  step  of  our  procedure,  we  may 
run  more  into  details, — we  may  amplify,  at  will,  as  our  ob- 
ject or  the  occasion  may  demand.  We  may  go  more  or  less 
into  the  indication  of  the  relations  to  other  moral  states  or 
exercises.  We  may  indicate  all  the  particular  ills  of  body 
and  troubles  of  mind,  in  respect  to  which  fortitude  is  to  be 
exercised.  We  may  expand  the  description  almost  at  our 
pleasure,  in  detailing  the  utility  and  loveliness,  or  the  sub- 
limity of  the  disposition ;  precisely  as  in  describing  Malta, 
we  might  have  amplified  almost  at  will  in  detailing  the 
curves  on  the  coast,  the  inlets,  the  promontories,  the  hills, 
etc. 

All  themes  in  abstract  description  may  be  treated  in 
this  way,  under  the  relations  or  analogies  of  space.  This 
we  know,  on  the  general  principle  that  all  our  thinking  is 
necessarily  either  in  the  forms  of  time  or  in  those  of  space; 
and  a  little  practice  will  satisfy  any  one  of  the  high  utility, 
as  well  as  of  the  entire  practicability  of  this  mode  of  pre- 
paring our  thoughts  to  be  represented  to  others. 

In  reference  to  the  application  of  the  several  laws  of 
unity,  selection,  method,  and  completeness  to  this  process 
of  explanation,  it  will  readily  be  seen  how  it  differs  from 
simple  description  or  narration.  Nothing  will  help  more  to 
the  observance  of  the  law  of  unity  than  this  method  of 
imaging  the  theme  as  a  local  object  or  scene.  There  is  a 


ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION.  63 

far  greater  liability  to  a  violation  of  this  law  in  abstract, 
than  in  simple  description,  or  in  narration.  Such  violations 
may  obviously  be  much  more  easily  guarded  against,  and 
when  actually  occurring,  be  more  easily  discovered  and  cor- 
rected with  this  method  of  procedure.  In  picturing  before 
my  mind  the  disposition  of  "  fortitude,"  thus,  as  filling  a 
department  of  the  field  of  our  moral  dispositions,  I  shall 
be  kept  from  running  off  from  the  proper  description  of  it, 
to  remarks  upon  ignorance  or  timidity,  upon  conscience  and 
love  of  right,  or  other  states  of  mind  that  may  happen  to 
have  some  remote  relation  to  fortitude,  or  into  some  narra- 
tion of  instances  of  fortitude  conducted  in  such  a  way  as  to 
leave  it  doubtful  whether  the  design  is  to  describe  the  dis- 
position or  to  narrate  some  instances  of  its  exercise. 

In  like  manner,  the  law  of  selection  will,  in  this  mode  of 
proceeding,  be  more  likely  to  be  observed.  Such  views  of 
the  theme  will  be  taken  .as  will  best  present  it  clearly  to 
other  minds. 

The  application  of  the  law  of  method,  which  requires  that 
the  analogies  of  space  be  observed,  that  is,  that  the  theme 
be  pictured  to  the  mind  as  an  object  or  scene  in  space,  with 
boundaries  or  outlines,  and  that  the  parts  of  the  theme 
which  are  presented,  or  the  views  taken,  be  arranged  accord- 
ing to  their  degrees  of  nearness,  is  obvious  from  the  illus- 
tration that  has  been  given.  It  should  be  carried  out  into 
all  the  details  of  the  description.  I  not  only  thus  picture 
to  my  mind  the  disposition  of  fortitude,  as  occupying  a  cer- 
tain field  of  thought  with  definite  outlines,  and  as  lying  in 
a  certain  department  of  the  moral  nature,  but  I  take  care 
to  run  the  boundaries  entirely  around  it,  so  as  to  separate  it 
from  every  other  disposition  or  state  of  mind.  And  then, 
passing  to  the  details,  I  take  care  not  to  mix  up  "  bodily 
ills  "  with  "  mental  troubles,"  speaking  now  of  the  pain  of 
a  broken  limb,  and  then  of  the  suffering  that  is  caused  by 


()4  ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION. 

an  arrow  of  contempt;-  now  of  the  anguish  of  a  burning 
fever,  and  then  of  the  torture  of  a  diseased  spirit ;  now  of 
the  languor  and  weariness  of  an  overworked  frame ;  and 
then  of  the  sad  depressions  of  exhausted  spirits.  The  parts 
of  each  general  boundary  or  division  should  be  presented 
by  themselves ;  and,  also,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
related  to  each  other.  Thus,  the  smart  of  a  wound  is  more 
nearly  related  to  the  anguish  of  a  fever,  than  to  the  suffer- 
ings from  hunger ;  the  pain  of  a  wounded  sensibility  from 
neglect  or  contempt,  to  the  depressing  fears  from  threaten- 
ing difficulties  or  opposition,  than  to  the  troubles  of  a  spirit 
dissatisfied  with  itself.  In  all  cases  thus,  of  abstract  de- 
scription, there  will  be  perceived,  on  close  and  continued 
inspection,  a  difference  in  the  degrees  of  relationship  be- 
tween the  parts ;  and  the  law  of  method  requires  that  this 
contiguity  of  the  parts  be  observed  in  the  description. 

The  law  of  completeness  is  more  liable  to  be  vic-lated 
here,  than  in  simple  description.  There  is  danger  that  some 
of  the  outlines  that  are  necessary  to  fill  out  the  entire  field 
of  thought  occupied  by  the  theme  may  be  omitted;  or  that 
parts  of  the  details  may  be  passed  by. 

The  questions  in  criticising  the  performance,  will  be  an- 
alogous to  those  in  simple  description. 

1.  Is  the  theme  one,  and  is  it  always  viewed  as  occupying 
a  field,  the  boundaries  of  which  may  be  run  upon  the  re- 
spective sides,  and  with  their  true  bearings  ? 

2.  Has  the  true  relation  of  the  theme  been  given  to  other 
themes  of  the  same  class,  and  the  best  for  indicating  it  to 
other  minds ;    and  are  the  outlines  selected,  such  as,  from 
the   point  of   view  taken,   will   best  exhibit  the   theme  to 
others  ? 

3.  Are  all  the  outlines  run  in  their  true  order  of  conti- 
guity or  nearness  7 

4.  Have  all  the  outlines  and  the  contents  also — the  map* 


ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION.  65 

ping  out  and  the  filling  up — been  carried  to  their  requisite 
degree  of  completeness? 

§  67.  Correct  the  faults  in  the  following  plans  of  descrip- 
tion. 

I.     THEME. — Grammar. 

Grammar,  as  the  science  of  language,  is  thus  bounded  or 
limited : 

1.  It  is  limited  by  the  science  of  the  feelings.     Language 
is  directly  and  properly  not  the  expression  of  feeling.     It 
expresses  feeling  only  through  the  thought. 

2.  It  is  further  limited  by  the  science  of  music ;  as  music 
immediately  expresses  feeling,  not  thought,  except  as  feeling 
necessarily  appears  in  thought. 

3.  It  is  limited,  still  further,  by  the  science  of  hieroglyph- 
ics, or  the  expression  of  thought  by  visible  signs  to  the  eye. 

4.  It  is  limited,  once  more,  by  logic  or  the   science  of 
thought.     Language  is  not  thought,  but  only  the  expression 
of  thought. 

5.  It  is  limited,  lastly,  by  the  science  of  mind.     The  mind, 
according  to  its  own  laws,  furnishes  thoughts  for  speech ;  but 
grammar  takes  the  thoughts  as  they  are  furnished  to  it,  and 
views  them  only  as  they  appear  in  words. 


II.     THEME. — Botany. 
Botany  is  a  department  of  Physical  Science. 

1.  It  is  divided  from  Mineralogy,  by  the  line  which  sep- 
arates organic  from  inorganic  matter. 

2.  It  is  distinguished  from  Chemistry,  as  it  treats  of  forms, 
while  chemistry  treats  of  forces. 

3.  It  is  separated  from  Mental  Science,  by  the  boundary 
line  between  matter  and  mind. 

6 


66  ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION. 

4.  It  differs  from  Physiology,  as  it  treats  of  the  forms, 
and  not  of  the  growth  of  plants. 

5.  It  differs  from  Grammar  and  Mathematics,  as  it  treats 
*tf  outward,  sensible  objects,  not  of  what  is  abstract  or  purely 
jiental. 

6.  It  differs  from  Physics  proper,  or  Natural  Philosophy, 
as  the  latter  treats  of  causes  and  the  laws  of  their  operation, 
while  Botany  has  to  do  not  with  causes,  but  with  effects. 

7.  It  differs  from  Zoology,  as  plants  differ  from  animals 


III.     THEME. — Imagination . 

1.  Imagination   is   a  faculty  of  a   rational   nature.     The 
animal  may  combine  different  things  which  it  has  seen,  but 
it  never  properly  imagines. 

2.  Imagination  depends  on  memory ;  but  is  broadly  dis- 
tinguished  from  that  faculty,  as  it  creates,  while   memory 
only  reproduces. 

3.  It   differs   from   Perception,   as  perception   only  takes 
notice  of  what  is  presented  to  it  from  without,  while  imagi- 
nation is  not  a  power  of  knowing,  but  of  producing. 

4.  It  is  distinguished  from  Invention,  as  the  latter  is  a 
mere  faculty  of  combination  and  application. 

5.  It  is  properly  a  faculty  of  forms  ;  which  may  be  ma 
terial  or  sensible,  or  purely  mental. 

6.  It  differs  from  Reasoning,  inasmuch  as  it  produces  new 
forms  of  truth,  without  deduction  or  inference. 

IV.     THEME. — Spartan  Patriotism. 

Spartan  patriotism  was  love  of  country  carried  to  excess. 
It  disregarded  the  obligations  of  the  family  and  kindred,  and 
trampled  under  foot  all  personal  rights.  It  tore  the  child 
from  the  embrace  of  the  mother,  and  sacrificed  all  religious 


ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION.  67 

sentiments  on  the  altar  of  country.  Its  god  was  Sparta ;  its 
morality  was  Sparta's  aggrandizement.  To  steal  was  right, 
if  the  theft  went  to  enrich  the  treasury  of  Sparta,  or  even  if 
the  practice  of  private  thieving  would  better  train  for  pillage 
and  plunder  for  Sparta's  benefit.  To  die  for  Sparta,  right  or 
wrong,  was  the  highest  glory.  Lying  was  praiseworthy,  if 
Sparta  could  gain  by  it.  In  short,  patriotism  was  at  Sparta 
the  dominant  and  all-controlling  sentiment,  subjecting  to 
itself  all  personal  respect,  all  social  affection,  all  religious  ob- 
ligation. The  man  himself  had  no  rights;  kindred  and  neigh- 
bors, humanity  itself,  no  claims ;  the  Deity  no  prerogatives. 

V.     THEME. — Scorn. 

Scorn  is  a  sentiment  of  assumed  superiority  over  others, 
and  of  disrespect  to  their  rights. 

As  a  sentiment,  it  lies  in  our  passive  or  affective  nature. 
It  is  neither  justly  intelligent  or  rational,  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  necessarily  intentional  or  willful  on  the  other. 

It  overestimates  one's  own  powers  and  deserts,  and  under- 
rates those  of  other  persons. 

It  is  a  fault  in  the  person  and  an  evil  to  society. 

It  is  blind  in  its  judgment  ahd  unreasonable  in  its  prompt- 
ings. 

It  puffs  up  with  disgusting  self-conceit,  and  wounds  the 
tenderest  and  most  sacred  feelings  of  others. 

It  ever  implies  a  comparison  between  one's  self  and  others. 
It  first  judges  unrighteously,  in  exalting  unduly  personal 
merits,  and  then  acts  injuriously  in  pressing  those  assumed 
merits  to  the  undeserved  detriment  of  others. 

It  breaks  up  society  first  by  its  repulsive  arrogance,  and 
then  by  the  embittering  indignities  in  which  it  expresses  itself. 

NOTE. — In  correcting  this  exercise,  let  the  position  of  the  theme  first 
be  indicated — the  department  of  our  nature  in  which  it  lies.  Then 


68  ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION. 

let  those  boundaries  or  limitations  of  it  be  indicated,  first  in  itg 
essential  elements,  then  in  its  characteristics  as  it  would  present 
itself  to  the  eye,  and  finally,  in  its  effects.  Let  the  laws  of  descrip- 
tion be  applied  :  Is  the  one  theme  ever  kept  before  the  mind  ?  Is  the 
right  position  taken,  and  the  proper  outlines  presented  ?  Are  they 
presented  in  their  proper  order?  Are  all  given  that  are  required 
for  a  complete  description  ? 


^  VI.     THEME. —  Contentment. 

Contentment  is  a  grace  of  character. 

It  may  respect  our  original  endowments,  our  attainments, 
or  our  circumstances. 

It  is  rather  a  habit  than  an  isolated  exercise  of  feeling,  and 
implies  a  continued  state  of  satisfaction  with  our  lot. 

There  is  much  more  happiness  within  the  reach  of  suffering 
men,  than  they  are  wont  to  suppose.  The  difficulty  is,  that 
happiness  is  sought  where  it  can  not  be  found,  while  its  actual 
and  abundant  springs  and  sources  are  neglected. 

We  have  great  and  rich  endowments,  which  we  should  at 
once  recognize  as  such  with  gratitude  and  satisfaction,  if  we 
were  to  regard  the  multitudes  in  creation  beneath  us  in  capaci- 
ties and  condition. 

Contentment  implies  a  comparative  estimate  of  our  capaci- 
ties and  condition.  It  supposes  a  higher  and  better  condition 
possible,  than  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  experience. 

We  are  justly  discontented  in  n  sense  with  the  measure  of 
our  attainments.  The  best  can  easily  see  how  much  higher 
and  greater  even  theirs  might  have  been  than  they  are.  But 
there  may  yet  be  contentment  here  as  a  grace  of  character, 
so  far  as  it  allows  not  previous  faults  or  negligences  to  dis- 
hearten from  better  endeavors  ;  as  it  keeps  us  from  fretting, 
and  murmuring,  and  idle  self-reproaches;  as,  especially,  it 
gives  joy  and  encouragement  from  real  advances. 

A  spirit  of  contentment  is  one  of  the  richest  treasures  of 


ABSTRACT    DESCRIPTION. ffWwT'TTI    ^ 

the  soul.     It   moderates  and   extends  our  j^S^it  lightens 
and  softens  our  sorrows. 

A  contented  spirit  meets  the  good  and  the  ill  in  life  with 
composure,  for  it  knows  that  human  condition  is  one  of  de- 
pendence, and  that  all  things  are  ordered  in  infinite  wisdom 
and  love. 

VII.     THEME. — Patriotism  in  its  Nature,  Culture,  and  Value. 

I. — 1.  Patriotism  is  a  sentiment;  not  cold  conviction,  nor 
blind  instinct,  nor  fitful  willfulness. 

2.  It  is  beneficent,  as  it  ever  prompts  to  duty  and  service. 

3.  It  is  an  original  principle  of  man's  nature ;  a  suscepti- 
bility that  is  moved,  however,  only  by  truth  perceived  and 
understood. 

4.  It  is  wakeful. 

5.  It  is  self-denying. 

6.  It  is  forbearing  and  patient. 

7.  It  is  active. 

8.  It  is  hopeful. 

II. — 1.  Its  growth  and  culture  consist  in  study  and  in 
acts  of  patriotic  service. 

2.  It  imbibes  the  country's  life  by  the  study  of  its  origin 
and  growth,  of  its  adversities  and  successes,  its  outward  and 
its  internal  history. 

3.  It  sympathizes  with  all  its  experiences. 

4.  It  studies  its  capacities  and  its  defects. 

5.  It  promptly  yields  itself  to  every  call  of  service. 

6.  It  makes  sacrifice  of  selfish  opinions,  and  interests,  and 
feelings,  as  occasion  bids. 

III. — 1.  Its  value  is  beyond  estimation. 

2.  It  ennobles  its  possessor. 

3.  It  benefits  society. 


70  ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION. 

4.  It  suppresses  narrow,  selfish  instincts. 

5.  It  stimulates  others  to  generous  endeavors. 

6.  It  is  the  sure  and  necessary  bulwark  and  support  of 
civil  communities. 

\ 
EXERCISES  IN  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 

1.  Give  the  outlines  or  boundaries  which  separate  Ety- 
mology from  other  departments  of  Grammar; 

2.  Chemistry  from  other  branches  of  Natural  Science ; 

3.  Practical  Astronomy  from  other  departments  of  the 
science ; 

4.  A  noun  from  other  parts  of  speech ; 

5.  A  wish  from  other  states  of  mind ; 

6.  Faith  from  other  moral  virtues ; 

7.  An  oath  from  other  addresses  to  the  Creator ; 

8.  A  family  from  other  forms  of  society  • 

9.  The  sanction  from  other  component  parts  of  a  law. 

1.  Distinguish  or  run  the  boundary  lines  between  pru- 
dence arid  wisdom ; 

2.  A  virtue  and  a  grace  in  character ; 

3.  Law  and  advice  ; 

4.  Desire  and  choice ; 

5.  Belief  and  trust ; 

6.  Knowledge  and  faith ; 

7.  Principle  and  profession ; 

8.  A  hope  and  a  wish ; 

9.  A  solecism  and  a  barbarism ; 


ABSTRACT   DESCRIPTION.  7  I 

10.  A  metaphor  and  a  trope  j 

11.  Rhythm  and  melody  ; 

12.  Genius  and  taste  ; 

13.  Purpose  and  disposition  ; 

14.  Freedom  and  lawlessness ; 

15.  Character  and  reputation ; 

16.  A  confederacy  and  a  republic ; 

17.  Emotion  and  sensation  ; 

18.  Rational  contemplation  and  wild  castle-building. 

1.  Enumerate  the  distinctive  qualities  of  true  friendship  j 

2.  A  laudable  desire  to  excel ; 

3.  Egotism ; 

4.  Flattery; 

5.  Arrogance ; 

6.  Petulance ; 

7.  Covetousness ; 

8.  True  manliness. 

1.  Describe,  first,  in  its  distinctive  nature;  secondly,  in 
its  qualities;  and  thirdly,  in  its  uses  or  value,  a  refined  taste; 

2.  A  well  disciplined  mind ; 

3.  Habits  of  order ; 

4.  A  spirit  of  contentment ; 

5.  A  love  of  neatness ; 

6.  Familiarity  with  nature  j 


2  ANALYSIS. 

7.  Love  of  the  real  'and  the  actual; 

8.  A  contemplative  spirit; 

9.  The  grace  of  meekness ; 

10.  Tenderness  of  sensibility; 

11.  Sympathy  with  natural  scenes; 

12.  Decision  of  character ; 

13.  Habits  of  observation. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ANALYSIS. 

§  68.  ANALYSIS  is  that  process  of  Explanation  in 
which  the  theme  is  represented  by  an  enumeration  of 
the  parts  into  which  it  has  been  separated. 

The  process  implies,  that  the  theme  has  first  been 
separated  in  thought,  at  least,  into  its  parts;  the  prop- 
er exhibition  of  those  parts  constitutes  the  essential 
nature  of  the  process. 

§  69.  The  theme  in  analysis  is  ever  one  which  can 
be  separated  into  parts ;  as  tree,  animal,  Europe. 

EXERCISE. — Mention  some  themes  that  can  be  separated 
into  parts. 

§  70.  Analysis  is  of  two  kinds :  DIVISION  and  PAR- 
TITION. 

§  71.  DIVISION  separates  the  theme  into  similar 
parts.  The  theme,  "  Man,"  thus,  is  divided  into  the 


DIVISION.  73 

several   races,   Caucasian,  Mongol,   Malay,   Ethiopian, 
and  American. 

§  72.  PARTITION  separates  the  theme  into  component 
parts.  The  theme,  "  Man,"  is  separated  by  partition 
into  the  several  members, — head,  neck,  trunk,  and 
limbs. 

A  little  thought  will  familiarize  this  important  distinction 
between  like  or  similar  parts,  and  component  parts;  a  simi- 
lar part  may  be  correctly  designated  by  the  name  of  the 
whole,  as  "a  Mongol"  may  properly  be  termed  "a  man;" 
a  component  part  can  not  be  so  designated,  as  "  the  head  " 
is  not  "  the  man." 

The  names  of  the  parts  given  by  Division  are  such  as 
kingdoms,  classes,  orders,  genera  or  kinds,  species,  families, 
varieties. 

The  names  of  the  parts  given  by  Partition  are  such  as 
members,  portions,  constituents,  and  the  like;  any  one  part 
is  a  complement  of  the  rest. 


CHAPTER  XL 

DIVISION. 

§  73.  The  theme  in  Division  is  ever  a  class ;  as  man, 
tree,  rock. 

§  74.  The  Law  of  Unity  in  Division  requires, 
First,  That  the  theme  be  but  a  single  class : 
Secondly,  That  the  separation  into  the  parts  be  made 
on  a  single  principle  of  division. 
7 


74  DIVISION. 

This  law  would  be-  violated  by  introducing  subdivisions 
not  included  in  the  class  which  constitutes  the  theme ;  as  in 
the  division  of  the  theme,  "  Man."  unity  would  be  violated 
by  introducing  "  the  Chimpanzee,'7  or  "  the  Ourang-outang." 

It  would,  also,  be  violated  by  representing  parts  which 
are  given  by  different  principles  of  division.  Thus  the 
theme,  "  Man,"  may  be  divided  into  many  sets  of  parts,  on 
as  many  different  principles  of  division.  Unity  would  be 
violated  by  confounding  or  intermingling  those  sets.  This 
would  be  the  case,  if  the  parts  given  by  the  principle  of 
color  were  enumerated  in  the  same  rank  with  those  given 
by  the  principle  of  civilization ;  as  if  the  parts  given,  were 
"  White,"  "  Brown,"  «  Indian,"  and  "  Black." 

EXERCISES. — Correct  the  errors  in  the  following  instances 
of  division. 

1.  The   solar   system    comprehends,  1.  The  Sun ;   2.  The 
Planets ;  3.  The  Satellites  of  the  Planets ;  4.  The  Stars. 

2.  Formidable,  as  useful  to  the  mariner,  are  those  great 
movements    of    the    ocean,    Tides,    Waves,    Icebergs,    and 
Oceanic  Currents. 

3.  Of  the  various  orders  of  the  animal  kingdom,  that  of 
the  Ruminante,  or  of  those  which  chew  the  cud,  embraces 
those  that  have  been  made  most  serviceable  to  the  wants  of 
men,  as   an  enumeration  of  its  various  families  will  show. 
These  are  the  Camel,  the   Llama,   the   Giraffe,  the    Horse, 
the  Deer,  the  Antelope,  the  Goat,  the  Hog,  the  Sheep,  and 
the  Ox. 

4.  The  winds  may  be  divided  into  Constant,  General,  Vari- 
able, and  Partial. 

5.  The   inhabitants   of  the   earth   may  be  distributed  in 
respect  to  their  religion,  into   the   following   classes,    viz. : 
Christians,  Jews,  Mohammedans,  Chinese,  and  Pagans. 

6.  The  pure  or  unmixed  forms  of  government  have  been 


DIVISION.  75 

stated   to    be   Monarchy,   Oligarchy,   Democracy,   and   Con- 
federacy. 

7.  The  personal, vices  are,  Indolence,  Negligence,  Intem- 
perance, Egotism,  and  Malice. 

8.  Triangles  are  Equilateral,  Isosceles,  Obtuse,  or  Rectan- 
gular. 

§  75.  The  Law  of  Selection  in  Division  requires  that, 
of  the  different  principles  of  division  applicable  to  the 
theme,  that  one  be  taken  which  will  give  the  sets  of 
parts  best  fitted  to  the  object  of  the  composition. 

This  law  would  be  violated  by  adopting,  in  an  essay  on 
the  different  languages  that  have  been  spoken  among  men, 
a  principle  of  division  of  the  human  race  founded  on  color, 
or  on  country,  or  on  period  of  existence.  For  while,  for 
some  purposes,  it  might  be  proper  to  make  the  division  on 
one  or  the  other  of  these  principles,  neither  one  would  give 
us  all  the  languages  spoken  by  man  in  their  proper  distri- 
bution. The  Hebrew  dialect,  thus,  is  spoken  by  communi- 
ties of  different  complexions,  in  different  lands,  and  at 
different  ages  of  the  world.  By  neither  of  these  principles 
of  division,  could  it  be  properly  placed  in  relation  to  other 
languages. 

§  76.  The  Law  of  Method  in  Division  requires. 
First,  That   the  parts   be  enumerated    in  the   order 

of  the  degree  of  resemblance  to  each  other. 

Secondly,  That,   if   the   division  be   carried  beyond 

the  first  set  of  parts,  the  subordinate  parts  be  arranged 

under  the  second  classes. 

If  the  human  family  were  to  be  divided  in  reference  to 
color,  as  the  principle  of  division,  the  parts  would  properly 


76  DIVISION. 

be  arranged  in  this  order  :  white,  brown,  blackish  brown, 
black.  If  this  same  theme  were  divided  on  the  principle 
of  race,  the  order  would  properly  be  this :  Caucasian,  Mon- 
golian, Malay,  Ethiopian,  American.  The  law  would  be 
violated,  by  placing  <'•  the  black  "  in  the  first  set  before  "the 
brown ;"  or,  in  the  second,  "  the  Ethiopian "  before  "  the 
Mongolian ;"  or,  by  interchanging  the  positions  respectively 
of  the  Caucasian  and  the  Malay. 

The  -second  requisition  of  the  law  would  be  violated  by 
grouping  together  the  Arabian  and  the  Australian,  one  of 
which  belongs  to  the  white,  the  other  to  the  black  division; 
or,  in  the  first  set  of  parts,  the  Celtic  and  the  Chinese  in 
the  second  set. 

Correct  the  errors  of  method  in  the  following  instances 
of  enumeration. 

1.  The  vertebrate  animals  are  included  in  the  four  classes 
of  the  Mammals,  the  Fishes,  the  Reptiles,  and  the  Birds. 

2.  The  duties  of  men  respect  themselves,  their  Maker,  and 
their  fellows. 

3.  The  mental  activities  are  distributed  into  those  of  in- 
tellect, will,  and  susceptibility. 

4.  The    desires    are    classed    among    those    of    happi- 
ness, esteem,  society,  food  and   s-ubsistence,  knowledge,  and 
power. 

5.  The    senses  are  five  in  number,  viz. :  the  sight,  the 
smell,  the  touch,  the  taste,  and  the  hearing. 

6.  The  seven  primary  colors,   so  called,  are  indigo,  red, 
orange,  yellow,  violet,  green,  and  blue. 

7.  The  animal  kingdom  embraces  man,  the  various  orders 
of  the  mammals,  as  the  carnivorous,  the  marsupial,  the  ru- 
minants, and  others;   the  birds   of  prey   and  of  song;  the 
fishy  tribe,  from  the  great  monster  of  the  deep — the  whale — 
to  the  pin -fish  of  our  smallest  brooks ;  the  lobster  and  the 


DIVISION.  77 

oyster  groups  ;  and,  lowest  of  all,  that  seem  scarcely  separated 
from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  the  zoophytes  or  radiates. 

8.  The    Desires    are    distributed    into    those    which    are 
founded  in  our  animal  and  our  mental  natures,  hopes,  and 
fears. 

9.  Our  duties  may  be   ranged  under  the  classes  of  per- 
sonal, religious,  social,  and  political. 

10.  Moral  acts  consist  of,  1.  Virtues ;  2.  Upright  thoughts  ; 
3.  Pure  desires;  4.  Lawful  purposes;   5.  Vices;   6.  Words; 
7.  Outward  actions. 

11.  Societies  are:    1.  Natural;  2.  Artificial;  3.  Civil;  4. 
Domestic;  5.  Religious;  6.  Voluntary. 

12.  The  Arts  are:    1.  Useful;   2.  ^Esthetic;  3.  Architec- 
ture; 4.    Landscape-G-ardening ;    5.    Eloquence;   6.   Poetry; 
7.  Music;  8.  Painting;  9.  Sculpture. 

§  77.  The  Law  of  Completeness  in  Division  requires 
that  all  the  parts  given    by  the   adopted  principle  of 
Division  be  represented. 
I 

This  law  would  be  violated,  if,  in  the  division  of  govern- 
ments in  reference  to  the  seat  of  authority  in  them,  only 
the  monarchical,  the  aristocratic,  the  democratic,  and  those 
combined  of  any  two  of  these  were  enumerated,  leaving  out 
such  as  the  Spartan,  which  was  a  combination  of  all  the 
three  simple  forms. 

Correct  the  violations  of  the  law  of  completeness  in  tho 
following  examples. 

1.  The  divisions  of  water  are,  Oceans,  Seas,  Bays,  Gulfs, 
Sounds,  and  Lakes. 

2.  All  material  bodies  are  distributed  into  the  two  classes 
of  Ponderable  and  Imponderable  Bodies,  the  former  of  which 
embraces  solids  and  fluids. 


78  DIVISION. 

3.  The    moisture   in  -the    atmosphere    appears  under  the 
various  forms  of  Dew,  Fog,  Rain,  and  Snow. 

4.  The  domestic  virtues  are,  the  Conjugal,  the  Parental, 
and  the  Fraternal. 

5.  The  vertebrate  animals  are,  the  Mammals,  Birds,  and 
Fishes. 

§  78.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  DIVISION. 

The  first  thing  is,  to  fix  in  the  mind  a  distinct  notion  of 
the  theme,  as  representing  a  class. 

The  next  step  is,  to  determine  the  kind  of  division,  or 
the  principle  of  division  to  be  applied. 

Thus,  if  the  theme  be  "  Man,"  it  is  first  to  be  viewed  as 
denoting  a  class.  It  is  not  consequently  to  be  represented 
as  consisting  of  body  and  spirit ;  of  head,  trunk,  and  mem- 
bers ;  but  as  comprehending  various  species  or  varieties 
under  it.  Then  the  kind  of  division  is  to  be  determined, 
or  the  principle  in  reference  to  which  it  is  to  be  divided. 
This  may  be  complexion,  country,  sex,  age,  culture — any 
one,  or  some  other  like  principle,  as  each  of  these  principles 
would  give  its  own  set  of  parts  or  subdivisions.  If  divided 
in  reference  to  complexion,  there  would  be  given  such  parts 
as  white,  brown,  etc. ;  if  divided  in  reference  to  country, 
such  parts  as  Europeans,  Asiatics,  etc.,  would.be  obtained. 

If  the  division  is  to  be  carried  further,  the  parts  are  each 
to  be  taken  separately,  and  its  subdivisions  to  be  ascertained 
and  enumerated  in  the  same  way,  care  being  taken  that  all 
the  parts  that  are  thus  given,  be  distinctly  enumerated.  It 
is  not  necessary,  however,  to  subdivide  all  of  the  parts,  but 
only  such  as  the  object  of  the  composition  may  require. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  there  may  be  one  principle  of 
division  for  the  highest  series,  and  another  for  the  lower. 
As  if  "Man"  be  divided  first  in  reference  to  complexion, 
into  white,  brown,  blackish-brown,  and  black ;  the  white 


DIVISION.  79 

may  be  subdivided  into  the  Arabian  and  the  Abyssinian ; 
the  former  having  the  hair  straight  or  flowing,  the  latter 
crisped.  The  Arabian  family  may  be  still  further  subdivided 
in  reference  to  country,  as  the  Frank  or  European,  and  the 
Oriental,  with  still  further  subdivisions. 

When  the  parts  are  all  ascertained  and  arranged  in  order, 
they  may  be  represented  in  such  a  manner  by  narration,  by 
description,  or  otherwise,  as  may  appear  best.  The  first 
exercises  may  profitably  be  confined  to  the  simple  enumera- 
tion and  arrangement  of  the  parts,  without  amplifying  by 
description  or  otherwise. 

It  will  be  advantageous,  also,  to  indicate  always  the  prin- 
ciple of  division  adopted  in  each  case.  The  distinct  pres- 
entation of  this  to  the  mind  will  help  invention,  prevent 
confusion  and  error,  direct  the  arrangement,  and  in  other 
ways,  prove  a  profitable  exercise. 


§  79.  DIVIDE  THE  FOLLOWING  THEMES; 

1.  The  Kingdoms  of  Nature, 

2.  The  Animal  Kingdom. 

3.  The  Mammals. 

4.  The  Reptiles. 

5.  The  Ruminants. 

6.  Exogenous  Plants. 

7.  The  Oak  Genus. 

8.  The  Rose  Family. 

9.  The  Cherry. 

10.  The  Hawthorn. 

11.  The  Willow. 


80  Division, 

12.  The  Strawberry. 

13.  Cereals. 

14.  Clouds. 

15.  Winds. 

16.  Governmental  Systems. 

17.  Forms  of  Monarchy . 

18.  Conditions  of  Society. 

19.  Sciences. 

20.  Arts. 

21.  Forms  of  "Religion. 

22.  Educational  Systems. 

23.  Societies  ordained  of  God, 

24.  Theories  of  Electricity ; 

25.  of  the  Aurora  Borealig; 

26.  of  Sound ; 

27.  of  the  origin  of  Society  ; 

28.  of  the  origin  of  Language  j 

29.  of  Genius ; 

30.  of  Taste ; 

31.  of  Memory; 

32.  of  Freedom  of  the  Will ; 

33.  of  Necessity ; 

34.  of  Creation ; 

35.  of  Mind  and  Matter; 

36.  Mental  Phenomena. 


PARTITION.  81 


37.  The  Senses. 

38.  The  Emotions. 

39.  The  Virtues. 

40.  The  Graces  of  Character. 

41.  Duties. 

42.  Rights. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PARTITION. 

§  80.  In  Partition,  the  theme  is  some  composite  whole 
which  can  be  separated  into  parts,  and  which  is  com- 
posed or  made  up  of  these  parts. 

§  81.  The  Law  of  Unity  in  Partition,  requires, 

1.  That  the  theme  be  single  or  one  which  can  be  em- 
braced in  a  single  view  of  the  mind ;  and 

2.  That  the  separation  into  parts  of  the  same  order 
be  made  from  a  single  point  of  view. 

The  law  of  unity,  thus,  would  be  violated  if,  in  analyzing 
the  theme  "  Tree,"  by  partition,  that  is,  in  separating  it  into 
its  component  parts — "the  root,"  "  the  trunk,"  "the  branch- 
es," and  "the  fruit" — something  should  be  included  which 
was  not  with  the  others  a  component  part  of  the  tree,  as  "its 
shape,"  "its  hardness"  or  "woody  structure,"  and  the  like. 
These  things  do  not,  evidently,  go  with  the  root,  etc.,  to  make 
up  the  tree. 

This  law  would  also  be  violated,  if  with  the  parts  enumer- 


82  PARTITION. 

ated,  "the  root,"  "  the- trunk,"  "the  branches,"  and  "  the 
fruit/'  other  parts  were  given,  which,  although  component 
parts,  are  not  given  by  that  principle  of  partition  or  presented 
from  that  point  of  view,  as  "the  bark,"  "the  woody  fiber," 
"the  pith,"  and  the  like. 

Correct  violations  of  the  Law  of  Unity  in  Partition,  in  the 
following  examples. 

1.  The  United  States  of  America  embrace  as  constituent 
parts  of  the  Union  :   New  England,  the  Middle  States,  the 
Southern  States,  the  Western  States,  California,  Oregon,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  Territories. 

2.  The  West  India  Islands  include  Cuba,  Hayti,  Porto 
Rico,  the  British  Islands,  the  Danish  and  the  French  Islands, 
and  the  Bermudas. 

3.  The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  consists  of  the  King, 
the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  the  Knights,  Citizens,  and 
Burgesses,  and  the  representative  Peers  of  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land. 

4.  The  Legislative  Government  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  is  vested  in  the  President,  the  Cabinet,  the  Senate, 
and  the  House  of  Representatives. 

5.  The  population  of  Mexico  is  made  up  of  Creoles,  In- 
dians, Negroes,  Mulattoes,  and  the  mixed  races. 

6.  The  staple  productions  of  the  State,  are  cattle,  wheat, 
corn,  beef,  pork,  cows,  and  sheep. 

7.  The  face  of  the  country  is  diversified  by  mountains, 
hills,  valleys,  plains,  and  prairies. 

§  82.  The  Law  of  Selection  in  Partition,  requires  that 
such  sets  of  parts,  or  such  a  principle  of  partition,  be 
taken,  as  will  best  accomplish  the  object  in  writing. 

This  law  would  be  violated  if,  in  a  political  geography, 


PARTITION.  83 

those  parts  were  selected  which  are  given  by  the  physical 
lines  of  the  globe,  as  by  the  seas,  mountains,  or  rivers. 

§  83.  The  Law  of  Method  in  Partition,  requires, 

1.  That  the  parts  be  enumerated  in  the  order  of  jux- 
ta-position,  or  that  the  more  adjacent  parts  be  placed 
nearest  each  other  ;  and, 

2.  That,  if  the  partition  be  extended  beyond  the  first 
set  of  parts,  those  of  the  second  be  presented  under  the 
part  of  the  first  set  to  which  they  respectively  belong. 

This  law  would  be  violated  by  a  representation  of  the 
theme  "  Tree,"  in  the  order  of  enumeration,  first,  of  the  root; 
secondly,  the  leaves ;  thirdly,  the  trunk ;  and  fourthly,  the 
branches. 

It  would  also  be  violated,  if  the  method  were,  1.  The  root; 
2.  The  trunk  ;  3.  The  branches ;  4.  The  twigs ;  5.  The  leaves. 

The  law  would  be  violated  by  the  following  order  of  stat- 
ing the  parts  of  the  theme  "  Contentedness,"  considered  in 
reference  to  the  acts  in  which  the  practice  of  this  virtue  con- 
sists: 1.  "  Our  external  demeanor;"  2.  "Our  opinions;"  3. 
"  Our  dispositions  of  will  and  affection." 

It  would  be  violated,  also,  if  more  parts  of  a  lower  rank 
were  added  as  in  the  same  order,  such  as,  4.  "Submission;" 
5.  u  Confidence." 

The  method  adopted  by  Dr.  Barrow,  in  discoursing  on  this 
theme,  is  as  follows  :  "  I.  Our  opinions  and  judgments  of 
things ;  II.  Our  dispositions  of  will  and  affection ;  III.  Our 
external  demeanor."  Under  the  first  principal  part,  he  pre- 
sents the  subordinate  particulars  of  belief:  "  1.  That  our 
condition  is  determined  by  the  will  of  Grod ;  2.  That  every 
thing  which  happens,  is  thoroughly  good  and  fit ;  3.  That,  ac- 
cording to  God's  purpose,  all  events  conduce  to  our  welfare ; 
4.  That  our  present  condition  is,  all  things  considered,  the 


84  PARTITION. 

best  for  us."     Under  each  of  the  other  main  heads,  partieu* 
Jars  are  presented  in  the  same  way. 

Correct  errors  of  method  in  the  following  examples. 

1.  British  America  is  divided  into  the  provinces  of  New- 
foundland, New  Brunswick,  Canada,  New  Britain,  Nova  Sco- 
tia, and  Prince  Edward's  Island. 

2.  The  Barbary  States  are  Algiers,  Barca,  Morocco,  Tri- 
poli, and  Tunis. 

3.  A  flower  consists  of  calyx,  pistils,  stamens,  and  co- 
rolla. 

4.  The  parts  of  a  plant  are  the  root,  stem,  leaves,  calyx, 
and  corolla. 

5.  The  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  embraces  South  Britain, 
North  Britain,  Ireland,  and  Wales. 

6.  The  column  in  Architecture,  consists  of  the  base,  the 
shaft,  the  astragal  or  neck  of  the  capital,  the  capital,  and  the 
square  stone  at  the  top  called  the  abacus. 

7.  A  moral  act  includes,  1.  Free  choice;  2.  A  motive;  3. 
A  desire;  4.  A  perception;  5.  Deliberation;   6.  An  object 
of  choice ;  7.  Intelligence. 

8.  Skill  in  art  implies,   1.  Intelligence ;   2.  A   plan ;   3. 
Practice ;  4.  Power. 

9.  Music  is  composed  of,  1.  Sound;  2.  Melody;  3.  Har- 
mony ;  4.  Modulation ;  5.  Sentiment. 

10.  Literature  implies,  1.  Language;  2.  Cultivated  thought; 
3.  Refined  sentiment ;  4.  Taste;  5.  Social  freedom  ;  6.  Sound 
morals. 

11.  Avarice   is    made   up    of,    1.   Selfishness;    2.   Narrow 
views  of  enjoyment;  3.  Disregard  of  others'  rights  ;  4.  A  sac- 
rifice of  higher  interests. 

§  84.  The  Law  of  Completeness  in  Partition,  requires 
that  all  the  parts,  which  are  given  by  the  adopted  prin- 


PARTITION.  85 

ciple  of  Partition  as  making  up  the  theme,  be  enumer- 
ated. 

This  law  would  be  violated  if  in  the  partition  of  the  theme 
"Tree,"  "the  leaves  "  should  be  omitted;  or,  in  that  of  the 
theme  "  Contentedness,"  "the  dispositions"  should  be  left 
out,  and  only  "  the  opinions"  and  "  the  outward  demeanor" 
be  represented. 

Correct  the  violations  of  the  law  of  completeness  in  the 
following  examples. 

1.  The  Political  Divisions  of  Europe  are,  Great  Britain, 
France,  Prussia,  Austria,  Russia,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy. 

2.  The  parts  of  a  Flower,  are  the  Corolla,  the  Stamens, 
and  the  Pistils. 

3.  The  parts  of  a  Thermometer  are,  the  Case,  the  Scale, 
and  the  Mercury  Bulb. 

4.  The  constituents  of  an  act  of  virtue  are,  knowledge  of 
duty,  and  a  disposition  to  do  it. 

5.  Every  act  of  memory  implies  an  object  previously  in 
the  mind,  and  the  recognition  of  it  as  such. 

6.  Vision  involves  an  object  of  sight,  and  a  medium  through 
which  it  is  seen. 

7.  In  order  to  Rain  there  must  be  Evaporation  and  Con- 
densation. 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  PARTITION. 

After  the  theme  has  been  selected,  it  should  first  be  rep- 
resented carefully  and  distinctly  to  the  mind  as  a  whole, 
to  be  separated  into  its  component  parts.  This  is  of  import- 
ance every  way,  but  particularly  in  helping  to  a  ready,  cor- 
rect, and  complete  partition  of  the  theme.  There  will  be 
little  difficulty  with  outward  or  sensible  themes.  The  theme 
44  Tree,"  for  instance,  we  can  readily  think  of,  or  we  can  form 


86  PARTITION. 

an  image  of  it  as  filling  a  certain  space,  and  as  made  up  of 
certain  parts.  There  will  be  more  difficulty  in  thus  forming 
an  image  of  an  abstract  theme,  as,  for  instance,  the  theme 
"  Fortitude."  The  difficulty  is  the  same,  however,  that  we 
have  before  encountered  in  abstract  narrative  and  description ; 
and  for  reasons  already  intimated,  the  habit  of  representing 
abstract  themes  thus  to  the  mind  under  the  relations  of 
space,  is  one  of  vital  moment  to  good  writing.  A  little 
labor  at  first  will  surmount  all  the  difficulty,  and  will  be 
abundantly  compensated  in  the  effect  the  habit,  when  ac- 
quired, will  have  in  making  the  exercise  attractive  as  well 
as  useful.  We  can  thus  think  of  "  Fortitude  "  as  occupying 
a  place  in  the  field  of  personal  virtues,  and,  so  occupying  a 
place,  as  admitting  of  separation  into  parts,  which  taken 
together,  shall  make  up  the  whole  virtue. 

The  next  step  is  to  determine  upon  the  particular  prin- 
ciple of  partition  to  be  applied.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
theme  "  Tree,"  may  be  separated  into  parts,  which  shall  make 
up  the  whole  in  various  ways.  In  one  way,  or  by  one  prin- 
ciple of  partition,  we  have  given  us,  at  once,  as  the  com- 
ponent parts,  "  the  root,"  "  the  trunk,"  "  the  branches," 
"  the  foliage."  In  another  way,  by  taking  a  view  across  a 
section  of  the  trunk,  we  obtain  "  the  bark,"  "  the  sap-wood," 
"  the  heart-wood."  In  still  another,  regarding  it  simply  as 
a  shape  or  form  for  a  sketch  or  picture,  we  separate  it  into 
"trunk"  and  "spray." 

So,  in  the  case  of  the  abstract  theme,  "  Fortitude,"  wo 
notice  on  a  little  inspection,  that  there  are  several  things 
which  are  united  in  it  and  constitute  it  what  it  is.  There 
are  first,  sense  of  evil ;  secondly,  conviction  of  duty  to  en- 
counter it ;  thirdly,  steadfastly  meeting  and  enduring  it. 
Or,  we  might  separate  it  in  reference  to  the  faculties  in 
exercise,  as  "  the  sensibility  to  suffering,"  "  the  moral  sense 
impelling  to  a  cheerful  endurance,"  and  "  the  resolute  will 


PAETITION.  87 

to  bear  it."  Or  still  again,  in  reference  to  merely  esthetic 
aspects,  we  might  have  the  parts,  "  a  burdened  soul,"  "  a 
resolute  spirit,"  and  "  a  tranquil  brow." 

There  will  be  occasion  for  particular  care  that  parts  given 
by  different  principles  of  partition  be  not  intermingled  in 
the  enumeration. 

In  the  selection  of  the  principle  of  partition  to  be  adopted, 
reference  must  be  had  to  the  particular  object  in  writing. 
A  botanist,  thus,  would  prefer  the  fir-st  principle  adopted  in 
the  partition  of  the  theme  "  Tree,"  ap  -stated ;  a  physiologist 
would  rather  take  the  second,  as  better  showing  how  the  tree 
grows;  and  a  landscape  painter,  the  third. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind,  that  a  different  principle  of 
partition  may  be  applied  to  the  smaller  partitions,  from  that 
which  was  adopted  for  the  larger,  or  the  pame  principle  may 
be  continued.  Thus,  I  may  continue  the  same  principle  in 
the  partition  of  the  theme  "  Tree "  to  th#t  of  the  "  root," 
and  then  I  obtain  such  parts  as  "  the  sap-root,"  "  the  side- 
roots,"  "  the  root-fibrils,"  and  "  the  spongioles."  Or,  apply- 
ing a  different  principle,  the  botanist  would  obtain  by  par- 
tition, "  the  covering,"  "  the  wood,"  and  "  the  pith."  It 
would  not  necessarily  violate  any  law  of  discourse  to  apply 
to  any  lower  part  the  process  of  division ;  to  separate,  for 
instance,  "the  root"  into  "the  root-stock,"  *'  the  corm," 
"  the  tuber,"  and  "  the  bulb." 

In  applying  the  law  of  method,  which  is  the  next  thing 
to  be  attended  to,  care  must  be  taken  that  the  parts  be  so 
stated,  that  the  lower  parts  are  comprehended,  ea^h  group 
by  itself,  under  the  higher  to  which  they  belong. 

When  all  these  steps  are  thought  out,  the  parts  may  be 
stated  in  their  determined  order,  and  then  they  should  be 
reviewed  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  parti- 
tion is  complete  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  all  the  parts  tav^ 
been  stated. 


88  PARTITION. 

In  criticising  the  exercise,  inquiry  should  always  be  made 
for  the  particular  principle  adopted  in  the  partition. 

§  85.  Analyze  by  partition,  the  following  themes : 

1.  Central  America. 

2.  The  Chinese  Empire. 

3.  A  Flower. 

4.  An  Apple. 

5.  A  Ship. 

6.  A  Watch. 

7.  The  Eye. 

8.  A  Telescope. 

9.  A  Steam-Engine. 

10.  The  Electric  Telegraph. 

11.  The  Planetary  System. 

12.  The  Animal  Structure. 

13.  A  Logical  Proposition. 

14.  A  Discourse. 

15.  English  Grammar. 

16.  Chemistry. 

17.  Natural  Science. 

18.  Mental  Science. 

19.  Moral  Science. 

20.  A  State. 

21.  A  Legislature. 

22.  Law. 


EXEMPLIFICATION.  89 


23.  Virtue. 

24.  Conscience. 

25.  Patriotism. 

26.  Civilization. 

27.  Politeness. 

28.  Artistic  Skill, 


CHAPTER   XIII 

EXEMPLIFICATION. 

§  86.  EXEMPLIFICATION  is  that  process  of  explana- 
tion which  exhibits  the  theme  through  one  of  its  parts. 

In  this  process,  thus,  we  may  represent  the  theme  "  Giraffe," 
by  exhibiting  what  is  characteristic  of  that  species  of  animals 
as  found  in  a  single  individual,  as  that  in  the  Garden  of 
Plants,  in  Paris.  We  see,  from  this  specimen,  that  the  Gi- 
raffe has  horns  and  cloven  feet ;  that  it  ruminates  and  grazes 
like  other  animals  having  horns  and  cloven  feet ;  that  it  has 
a  beautiful  head,  with  small  mouth,  and  full,  brilliant  eyes, 
and  a  tongue  of  extraordinary  length,  that  seems  to  be  anal- 
ogous to  the  proboscis  of  the  elephant,  being  the  extension 
of  the  organ  of  taste,  while  the  trunk  is  the  extension  of  the 
organ  of  smell ;  also  a  neck  of  remarkable  length,  being 
longer  than  its  back,  which  fact,  with  the  great  hight  of  the 
withers,  gives  the  animal  a  peculiarly  erect  and  commanding 
appearance ;  and  that  it  is  gentle,  docile,  playful,  and  harm- 
less in  its  disposition. 

In  the  same  way,,  the  abstract  theme,  "Fortitude,"  might 


90  EXEMPLIFICATION. 


be  exemplified  in  SDHie^  particular  instances  of  the  virtue,  as 
in  the  case  of  Regulus,  who,  notwithstanding  the  dispensation 
from  his  engagement  by  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  the  protesta- 
tions and  remonstrances  of  the  whole  Roman  people,  and  the 
.amentations  of  his  friends,  persisted  in  his  purpose  to  return 
to  Carthage,  and  there  subjecting  himself  unfalteringly  to  the 
most  cruel  torments  and  indignities. 

§  87.  The  theme  in  Exemplification  must  represent  a 
class  that  can  be  divided  into  similar  parts. 

It  is  obvious  that  we  may  exemplify  "a  tree"  by  one  of 
its  varieties,  as  u  an  oak."  We  can  not  exemplify  it  by  one 
of  its  component  parts,  as  "  the  trunk,"  except  as  we  take 
those  properties  or  functions  of  life  which  are  common  to  the 
whole  tree  as  a  growth. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  how  closely  related  this  process 
is  to  analysis  by  division,  as  already  described. 

It  will  occur  at  once  to  every  one,  moreover,  that  this 
process  is  one  of  the  most  common,  and  at  the  same  time, 
one  of  the  most  pleasing  processes  of  explanation. 

§  88.  The  Law  of  Unity,  in  Exemplification,  requires 
three  things  : 

1.  That  but  one  class  be  taken  as  the  theme  to  be 
exemplified  ; 

2.  That,  if  more  than  one  example  be  introduced,  they 
be  not  mingled  together,  but  be  separately  presented  ; 

3.  That  only  those  properties  of  the  example  be  ex- 
hibited which  are  common  to  the  class. 

This  law  would  be  violated  if,  in  case  of  the  theme  "  the 
G-iraffe,"  I  should  bring  in  descriptions  of  other  animals  in 
the  Garden  of  Plants,  that  by  their  neighborhood,  or  by 


EXEMPLIFICATION.  91 

(Something  remarkable  about  them,  should  attract  my  mind 
to  them  and  lead  me  thus  to  forget  my  proposed  theme. 

It  would  be  violated,  in  its'  second  requisition,  if  I  should 
introduce  notices  of  the  Giraffe  in  the  Royal  Menagerie  at 
Windsor,  in  such  a  way  as  that  the  reader  would  confound 
the  two. 

It  would  also  be  violated  in  its  third  particular,  if  I  were 
to  bring  in  some  peculiarities  of  the  example  in  such  a  way 
as  to  lejive  the  reader  in  doubt  whether  they  belonged  to  the 
species,  such  as  stiffness  and  awkwardness  in  movement  and 
particularly  in  attempting  to  crop  grass  from  the  earth,  which 
might  have  been  occasioned  by  the  unnatural  treatment  it 
suffered  in  being  brought  up  by  men,  in  being  confined,  and 
in  being  transported  from  place  to  place,  and  to  uncongenial 
climes.  The  importance  of  distinguishing  carefully  accidental 
properties  of  the  individual  from  those  common  to  the  class, 
is  well  exemplified  in  the  fact  that  from  the  difficulty  shown 
by  a  domesticated  Giraffe  in  grazing  from  the  ground,  the 
conclusion  was  hastily  drawn  that  in  its  native  state  the  Gi- 
raffe did  not  crop  grass,  but  lived  exclusively  on  the  twigs  and 
leaves  of  trees. 

In  the  case  of  the  abstract  theme,  u  Fortitude,"  the  law 
would  be  violated  if  I  were  to  introduce  into  my  essay  other 
virtues,  as  "  patriotism,"  or  "  fidelity  to  engagements,"  in 
such  a  way  as  that  for  the  time  it  would  not  distinctly  appear 
that  the  theme  was  "  Fortitude  ;"  or  if  I  were  to  mingle  in 
confusedly  other  instances  of  fortitude ;  or  were  to  make 
prominent  other  traits  of  character  in  Regulus. 

Correct  the  violations  of  unity  in  the  following  plans. 

I.     THEME. — A  Republic  exemplified  in  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

1.  The  Constitution  is  made  the  basis  of  all  administration. 


92  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

2.  The  sovereignty 'is  vested  in  three  departments:    the 
Legislative,  the  Judicial,  and  the  Executive. 

3.  It  embraces  a  union  of  a  number  of  subordinate  Sov- 
ereignties or  States. 

4.  All  office-holders  are  directly  or  indirectly  responsible 
to  the  people. 

5.  Where  practicable,  the  people  act  in  person  in  local 
assemblies  ;  where  otherwise,   by  representatives  chosen  by 
themselves. 

6.  In  some  free  governments,   as  in   Great  Britain,  the 
membership  of  one  of  the  Legislative  departments  is  consti- 
tuted by  the  Executive. 

7.  Offices  are  limited  in  time  or  during  good  behavior. 

II.     THEME. — True  Patriotism  exemplified  in  George  Wash- 
ington. 

1.  He  freely  sacrificed   personal  interests,   as   of  home, 
property,  private  feelings  and  opinions,  at  his  country's  call. 

2.  When  opposed  by  his  personal  enemies  in  authority, 
he  suppressed  his  just  resentments  for  the  good  of  his  dis- 
tracted country. 

3.  He  rejected  the  offers  of  power  and  station,  when  made 
to  him  in  circumstances  that  made  them  peculiarly  tempting 
to  a  generous  ambition. 

4.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most  systematic  industry,  pro- 
found sagacity,  and  unswerving  morality. 

5.  He  preferred  the  pleasures  of  private  life  to  the  state 
and  pride  of  political  rule,  and  declined  honor  and  emolument 
when  the  welfare  of  the  country  made  no  demands  upon  his 
service. 

§  89.  The  Law  of  Selection,  in  Exemplification,  re- 
quires that  such  instances  or  examples,  and  such  par- 


EXEMPLIFICATION.  93 

ticular  features  of  the  example,  be  selected  as  can  best 
be  made  to  subserve  the  object  of  the  essay. 

There  will  often  be  occasion  for  careful  investigation  and 
study,  in  order  to  determine  what  examples  and  what  features 
in  the  example  shall  be  taken.  Sometimes  this  will  be  al- 
ready determined,  as  the  naturalist  may  have  but  one  speci- 
men within  his  reach,  or  generally  the  writer  may  be  shut 
up  to  particular  instances  or  facts,  by  his  lack  of  sources  of 
information.  The  law  would  be  violated  by  the  selection  of 
,  obscure  examples  of  which  but  little  is  known,  or  those  which 
but  faintly  exhibit  the  characteristics  of  the  class.  It  would 
also  be  violated  by  selecting  other  than  those  properties  which 
will  best  represent  the  class  ;  as  if  I  were  to  take  those  char- 
acteristics of  the  Giraffe  in  the  Garden  of  Plants,  which  be- 
long to  all  quadrupeds. 

§  90.  The  Law  of  Method,  in  Exemplification,  re- 
quires, 

1.  That  if  more  than  one   example   be    introduced, 
the  examples  be  arranged  according  to  the  principles 
of  analysis  by  division,  §§  73-79  ;  and, 

2.  That  the  particular  features  or  properties  of  the 
example  taken  be  presented  in  the  order  prescribed  by 
the  process  employed  in  explaining  them,  whether  that 
process  be  narration,  description,  or  analysis. 

It  is  obvious  that  after  the  example  is  selected,  and  also 
the  properties  which  are  to  exemplify  the  theme,  these  prop- 
erties are  to  be  exhibited  as  they  would  be  if  they  consti- 
tuted the  theme.  All  that  is  necessary  is^  that  the  main 
object,  which  here  is  to  exhibit  the  class  through  the  indi- 
vidual, be  steadily  kept  in  view. 


94  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

§  91.  The  Law  of  Completeness,  in  Exemplification, 
requires  that  all  the  properties  of  the  example  be  enu- 
merated which  are  necessary  fully  to  represent  the 
theme. 

Correct  faults  in  the  following  plans  in  Exemplification. 


I.     THEME. — Birds  show  the  Thieving  Propensities  that  char- 
acterize some  Human  Tribes. 

The  house-wren  will  watch  the  woodpecker,  till  it  has 
dug  a  hole  in  the  tree  sufficient  for  her  purpose,  and  then 
will  take  possession  of  it. 

It  often  drives  away  other  and  even  larger  birds  from 
their  nests,  after  they  are  built. 

It  attacks  the  blue-bird  with  great  violence  and  persistence. 

The  martin,  it  generally  succeeds  in  driving  off;  but  it  is 
sometimes  outmaneuvred.  Some  martins,  in  one  case,  as 
related  by  Mr.  Bingley,  watched  till  the  intruder  had  left 
the  box  from  which  they  had  been  driven,  and  then  entered 
and  barricaded  the  entrance,  and  went  without  food  two  days 
in  defending  it,  till  the  discomfited  wren  raised  the  siege. 

It  has  been  known  to  carry  off  all  the  movable  parts  of 
a  swallow's  nest,  to  supply  its  own. 

,  Swallows,  it  is  said,  however,  will  revenge  any  such  ma- 
raudings, as  they  have  closed  up  the  entrance,  when,  their 
enemies  have  taken  possession,  with  the  mortar  they  use  in 
building  their  nests,  and  entombed  the  robbers  alive. 

The  house-wren,  it  has  been  observed,  thus  closes  up  the 
Hole  of  the  blue-bird,  which  it  has  generally  found  a  su- 
perior foe. 


EXEMPLIFICATION.  95 

II.  THEME. — friendship    exemplified    in    the    devotion    of 

Damon  and  Pythias  to  each  other. 

Damon  had  been  sentenced  to  death  by  Dionysius,  King 
of  Syracuse. 

His  request  to  visit  his  own  country,  and  take  leave  of  his 
family,  was  granted,  only  on  condition  that  another  should 
consent  to  take  his  place  in  prison,  and  to  die  in  case  of  his 
failure  to  return. 

Pythias  at  once  offered  to  take  his  place. 

The  day  appointed  for  the  execution  came  on ;  Pythias 
cheerfully  obeyed  the  summons. 

He  thanks  God  that  his  friend  had  not  returned. 

A  cry  is  raised,  "  Stop  the  execution ;"  Damon  is  an- 
nounced. Pythias  bids  the  executioner  hasten  his  work. 

Damon  comes  up  at  full  speed,  covered  with  dust,  and  sur- 
renders himself  to  suffer  the  sentence  pronounced  against  him. 

Pythias  reluctantly  gives  way  to  his  faithful  friend. 

He  had  told  the  doubting  tyrant  that  he  was  confident 
his  friend  would  return. 

He  had  prayed  that  the  winds  might  be  contrary,  and  pre- 
vent it. 

III.  THEME. — Fraternal  Affection  illustrated  in  the  case  of 
Artabazanes  and  Xerxes,  sons  of  Darius,  King  of  Persia. 

Each  had  plausible  claims  to  the  succession  to  the  crown. 

Darius  died  when  the  elder  son,  Artabazanes,  was  absent; 
whereupon  Xerxes  assumed  the  scepter. 

On  the  return  of  his  brother,  he  threw  off  the  diadem, 
and  went  out  to  meet  him,  showing  him  all  imaginable  re- 
spect. 

This  deference  to  seniority  is  an  Oriental  trait,  worthily 
exemplified  in  Xerxes. 


96  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

The  brothers  agreed  to  refer  the  question  of  succession  to 
their  uncle,  who  decided  in  favor  of  Xerxes. 

Artabazanes  instantly  prostrated  himself  at  the  feet  of  his 
younger  brother,  and  acknowledged  him  his  sovereign. 

He  continued  faithful  in  his  affectionate  allegiance,  and, 
at  last,  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  brother,  at  the 
battle  of  Salamis. 

In  private  life,  as  during  the  period  of  the  dispute  about 
the  succession,  they  maintained  the  most  cordial  intercourse. 

§  92.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

In  selecting  and  studying  the  theme,  it  should  be  dis- 
tinctly borne  in  mind  that  the  theme  in  this  process  must 
ever  represent  a  class,  and  that  this  class  is  to  be  repre- 
sented through  the  example  which  is  taken.  The  mind 
should  grasp  the  theme  accordingly,  as  a  class  comprising 
more  or  less  varieties  or  individuals.  Only  as  it  is  a  class 
can  it  be  exemplified.  If  the  example  is  not  already  given, 
as  it  is,  for  instance,  when  a  naturalist  finds  a  new  specimen 
of  a  plant  or  mineral,  the  peculiarities  of  which  he  wishes 
to  represent  as  showing  the  properties  of  the  class  to  which 
it  belongs,  the  mind  should  carefully  run  over  the  different 
varieties  or  individuals  which  make  up  the  class  denoted  by 
the  theme,  with  a  view  to  determine  which  will  best  answer 
the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the  theme. 

When  the  particular  example  is  selected,  then  its  proper- 
ties, so  far  as  they  are  common  to  the  class,  should  be  care- 
fully scanned,  in  order  tjiat  the  most  appropriate  and  all  that 
are  necessary  properly  and  fully  to  represent  the  theme,  may 
be  selected.  Then  the  selected  properties  may  be  set  forth 
one  by  one,  in  the  order  prescribed  by  the  particular  pro- 
cess adopted.  This  process  may  sometimes  be  narration; 
sometimes  description  ;  sometimes  analysis. 

Suppose  the  theme  be  "  the  Rose,''  to  be  exemplified  ID 


EXEMPLIFICATION.  97 

tc  the  eglantine,"  or  "  sweet-brier."  The  process  may  begin 
by  mention  of  the  soil  which  it  prefers  ;  then  may  be  given 
its  general  character  and  size,  as  a  shrub,  with  indications 
of  the  stem,  the  leaves,  the  flowers,  which  may  be  followed 
out  into  the  particulars  of  number,  shape,  hue,  and  frag- 
rance ;  and  then  the  several  uses  of  the  plant.  In  passing 
over  these  particulars,  special  care  will  be  requisite  not  to 
represent  as  the  common  properties  of  all  roses  what  may 
be  peculiar  to  the  eglantine;  and,  further,  to  omit  nothing 
that  may  be  necessary  to  give  a  complete  notion  of  the 
theme.  It  would  be  wrong,  thus,  to  represent  all  roses  as 
of  the  same  size,  as  having  the  same  number,  shape,  and 
size  of  leaves,  and  the  same  color  and  fragrance  of  flower. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  moreover,  that  the  exempli- 
fication will  vary  with  the  more  particular  object  in  the 
essay.  A  naturalist  would  choose  a  different  example,  select 
different  properties  or  characteristics,  arrange  them  differently 
from  a  florist;  and  he,  again,  differently  from  a  mere  lover 
of  nature. 

Suppose  the  theme  be  abstract,  as  "  Justice,"  to  be  exempli- 
fied in  the  elder  Brutus.  Nothing  would  be  admissible  here 
but  what  would  serve  to  set  forth  the  exercise  of  this  vir- 
tue by  him.  His  personal  character  otherwise,  his  relations 
to  others,  as  particularly  to  his  sons  and  to  his  countrymen, 
as  leader  and  magistrate — these  would  all  be  scanned  in  the 
light  of  their  simple  relation  to  the  culture  and  practice  of 
this  virtue  by  Brutus.  Further,  the  culture  and  practice  of 
this  virtue  by  him  would  be  presented  only  so  far,  and  in 
such  light  as  would  serve  to  exemplify  it  in  its  general  prop- 
erties or  effects.  Thus,  in  the  history  of  Brutus,  we  see 
that  a  sentiment  of  justice  is  nurtured  by  suffering,  as  having 
early  lost  his  father  and  elder  brother  by  the  cruelty  of  Tar- 
quiu,  the  remembrance  of  the  wrong  being  perpetually  kept 
alive  in  the  feeling  of  his  loss,  ever  fed  the  native  spark 
9 


98  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

with  appropriate  fuel'  till  it  broke  into  a  flame  that  could 
not  be  extinguished ;  the  felt  inability  to  resent  the  wrong, 
and  the  forced  concealment  of  the  resentment,  only  strength- 
ened the  growth  of  the  sentiment  through  long  years  of 
suffering;  the  encouragement  given  by  the  interpretation  of 
a  prodigy,  tended  still  more  to  protect  and  sustain  the  sen- 
timent ;  the  sight  of  the  wrongs  to  others,  as  in  the  case  of 
Lucretia,  also  ministered  to  its  growth. 

We  see  thus  exemplified  in  the  history  of  Brutus,  how 
the  sentiment  of  justice  is  nourished  by  sense  of  personal 
wrong;  by  the  felt  necessity  of  repressing  for  a  time  all 
resentment ;  by  hope  of  ultimate  redress ;  by  sight  of  wrong 
to  others.  We  see,  also,  its  exercise  exemplified  in  him  in 
his  open  purpose  to  redress  the  cruelties  of  the  Tarquins. 
and  his  execution  of  his  purpose  in  his  overthrow  of  their 
dynasty ;  in  his  confiscation  of  their  property,  when  they 
were  detected  in  a  subsequent  conspiracy;  and  above  all,  in 
the  resolute  sacrifice  of  parental  affection  on  the  altar  of 
this  sentiment,  in  the  trial,  condemnation,  and  execution  of 
his  own  sons,  who  were  involved  in  the  conspiracy  to  restore 
the  Tarquins, 

§  93.  Exemplify  the  following  themes  : 

1.  A  Yine  in  the  Grape. 

2.  Plant-Life  in  the  Oak. 

3.  A  Marsupial  Animal  in  the  Kangaroo. 

4.  Shell-fish  in  the  Muscle. 

5.  Animal  Sagacity  in  the  Dog. 

6.  Instinctive  Order  in  the  Beaver. 

7.  Industry  in  the  Ant. 

8.  Order  in  the  Bee. 


. 

COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST.  99 

9.  Regularity  in  Nature. 

10.  True  Greatness  in  Washington. 

11.  Ambition  in  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
1-2.  Patriotism  in  Hampden. 

13.  Filial  Affection  in  Ruth. 

14.  Justice  in  Aristides. 

15.  Republican    Government    in    the    United    States    of 
America. 

16.  Luxury  in  Rome. 

17.  Civilizing    power    of    Christianity    in    the    Sandwich 
Islands. 

18.  Religion  in  France  during  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

COMPARISON     AND     CONTRAST. 

§  94.  COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST  is  that  process  of 
explanation  which  exhibits  the  theme  in  the  light  of  its 
resemblances  or  differences  in  reference  to  another  ob- 
ject of  the  same  class. 

§  95.  The  process  is  by  Comparison  when  the  re- 
semblances are  given ;  by  Contrast,  when  the  differences 
are  presented. 

Geography  is  thus  compared  to  Geology  in  respect  to  its 
subject-matter,  which  is  the  same — the  earth.  It  is  contrasted 


100  COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST. 

with,  it  in  respect  to  the  view  it  takes  of  the  earth  •  the  one 
directing  its  attention  to  the  forms  of  the  surface,  the  other 
to  the  interior  structure. 

§  96.  If  the  process  respect  the  simple  qualities  of 
the  things  compared,  it  is  called  DIRECT  COMPARISON 
AND  CONTRAST. 

If  it  respect  the  relations  of  the  objects,  it  is  called 
ANALOGICAL  COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST,  or  simply 
ANALOGY. 

Thus  the  planet  Yenus  may  be  compared  with  the  earth 
directly  in  the  particulars  that  it  has  gravity,  is  round,  has  a 
rough  or  mountainous  surface,  and  a  deep  and  dense  atmos- 
phere ;  that  it  is  not  self-luminous,  but  receives  its  light  from 
the  sun  \  that  it  revolves  on  its  axis  and  has  thus  the  succes- 
sions of  day  and  night,  and,  revolving  around  the  sun  with 
its  axis  inclined  but  unchanged  in*  direction,  has  changes  of 
seasons. 

It  may  be  compared  to  the  earth  analogically  or  through 
its  relations  in  reference  to  its  fitness  to  sustain  life,  vege- 
table or  animal ;  its  influence  on  the  movements  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  solar  system,  and  the  like.  In  this  case,  the  same 
properties  may  more  or  less  be  taken  into  view,  as,  for  in- 
stance, atmosphere,  change  of  seasons,  magnitude,  distance 
from  the  sun,  etc.;  but  so  far  as  they  are  thus  introduced, 
they  are  viewed  only  in  reference  to  their  bearing  on  the 
planet's  fitness  to  sustain  life  or  to  disturb  the  motions  of 
other  bodies — in  other  words,  only  in  their  relations. 

It  may  not  be  expedient  always  to  distinguish,  thus,  prop- 
erties from  relations  in  the  enumeration  of  the  points  of 
resemblance  or  of  difference.  Sometimes  it  will  be  needful  to 
confine  attention  to  the  one  or  the  other — the  properties  or 
the  relations — and  then  the  distinction  becomes  important. 


COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST.  103 

Distinguish  Direct  from  Analogical  Comparison  and  Con- 
trast, in  the  following  outlines. 

I.     THEME—  The  DuckUll 

1.  The  Duckbill  or  Ornithorhyncus,  was  long  a  wonder 
and  a  puzzle  to  naturalists. 

2.  It  has  a  bill  like  a  Duck. 

3.  It  is  covered  with  hair  and  fur,  like  the  Otter. 

4.  It  finds  its  food  in  the  mud,  like  the  Duck,  and  feeds 
on  insects,  small  shell-fish,  and  worms,  as  well  as  grass. 

5.  It  burrows  in  the  ground  like  the  Kabbit. 

6.  It  carries  and  nourishes  its  young  like  the  Kangaroo. 

II.     THEME. —  The  government  of  the  United  States  resembles 
that  of  Great  Britain  in  many  respects. 

1.  The  Executive  administration  is  intrusted  to  one  per- 
Bon,  as  its  head  and  source,  called  in  one  case  the  King,  in  the 
other  the  President. 

2.  In  both  the  Executive  is  responsible   to  the  nation, 
which  extends  its  control  to  the  King  indirectly  through  his 
Ministry ;  to  the  President  directly  to  his  own  person. 

3.  The  Legislative  authority  is  in  both  jointly  vested  in 
two  bodies,  which  are  independent  of  each  other  in  respect  of 
appointment  and  of  action. 

4.  The  membership  of  the   House  of  Lords  derives  its 
being  from  the  appointment  of  the  King,  and  is  hereditary ; 
that  of  the  United  States  Senate,  from  the  several  State  Leg- 
islatures, and  is  only  for  a  term  of  years. 

5.  The  House  of  Commons  and  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, are  alike  elected  by  the  people. 

§  97.  The  theme  in  this  process  must  be  regarded  as 
an  object  belonging  to  a  class,  as  an  oak,  an  elephant, 


102  COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST. 

fortitude,  which  belong  severally  to  the  classes  of  trees, 
animals,  virtues. 

§  98.  The  Law  of  Unity  in  Comparison  and  Contrast, 
requires, 

1.  That  the  theme  be  a  single  individual,  or  variety 
of  the  class  ;  and, 

2.  That  the  object,  with  which  the  theme  is  compared 
or  contrasted,  be  also  single. 

This  law  does  not  forbid  that  several  individuals  be  made 
to  constitute  the  theme,  but  only  that  they  should  not  be  rep- 
resented as  individuals  confusedly  together.  It  requires  that 
they  be  gathered  into  a  single  group,  and  that  they  be  repre- 
sented as  such  single  group  throughout  the  essay.  Thus  the 
other  planets  may  be  compared  with  the  Earth  with  no  viola- 
tion of  unity ;  or  all  the  superior  planets  or  the  inferior 
planets,  or  all  the  planets  besides  the  asteroids.  But  whether 
more  or  fewer  are  taken,  they  must  be  carried  in  the  mind  as 
one  group.  The  law  would  be  violated  if  sometimes  Jupiter, 
sometimes  Yenus,  sometimes  some  other  planet,  were  pre- 
sented, leaving  it  a  doubtful  matter  what  might  be  the  par- 
ticular theme  to  be  represented. 

The  same  remark  is  applicable  to  the  second  part  of  the 
law  requiring  singleness  in  the  object  with  which  the  theme 
is  compared.  The  law  does  not  forbid  that  this  object  be  a 
group  or  variety.  We  might  thus  represent  the  theme  "  the 
Earth,"  by  comparison  with  the  other  planets  ;  as  it  resembles 
them  in  reflecting  light  to  other  worlds  ;  in  presenting  phases 
like  them,  passing  from  full  to  new,  as  does  the  moon ;  in 
transits  over  the  face  of  the  sun ;  in  revolving  around  the 
slin;  in  appearing  sometimes  nearer  the  sun,  sometimes  farther 
from  it,  sometimes  to  be  advancing,  sometimes  to  be  retro- 
grading. The  other  bodies  of  the  solar  system  would  together 


COMPARISON    AND    CONTRAST.  103 

constitute  the  object  with  which  the  comparison  would  be 
made.  The  law  would  be  violated,  however,  if  the  comparison 
were  here  with  one  and  there  with  another  of  these  bodies 
in  such  a  way  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  follow  the  com- 
parison. 

§  99.  The  Law  of  Selection  requires, 

1.  That  the  object  with  which  the  theme  is  compared 
belong  to  the  same  class  as  the  theme ; 

2.  That  those  points  in  the  object,   with  which  the 
comparison  or  contrast  is  made,  be  selected  which  will 
best  exhibit  the  theme. 

Although  it  is  strictly  true  that  there  are  no  two  things 
that  can  not  be  embraced  in  the  same  class  on  some  suppos- 
able  principle  of  classification,  as  even  a  mathematical  tri- 
angle, an  orange,  and  an  act  of  virtue,  all  belong  to  the  class 
of  "  objects  of  conception,"  still,  inasmuch  as  the  comparison 
or  contrast  can  be  but  extremely  faint  and  dim  between  ob- 
jects that  can  be  embraced  in  classes  of  excessively  wide 
extent,  this  law  of  selection  would  be  violated  in  taking  a 
more  comprehensive  class  than  is  necessary. 

Generally,  the  smaller  the  class,  the  more  clear  and  distinct 
will  be  the  comparison.  Sometimes,  however,  the  wider  the 
contrast,  the  more  striking  will  be  any  points  of  resem- 
blance. 

§  100.  The  Law  of  Method  requires,  that  the  points 
of  resemblance  or  difference  be  presented  in  the  order 
of  their  relationship  to  each  other,  or  the  resemblances 
by  themselves  and  the  differences  by  themselves  success- 
ively. 


104  COMPARISON   AND   CONTRAST. 

Correct  faults  in  method  in  the  following  plan. 

THEME. — Demosthenes  and  Cicero. 

1.  Both  of  these  celebrated  orators  gave  themselves  to  the 
culture  of  the  art  of  Eloquence,  with  extraordinary  devotion. 
Demosthenes  cultivated  rather  vehemence  and  energy ;  Cicero, 
learning  and  polish. 

2.  Both  were  men  of  the  highest  repute  and  influence  in 
their  respective  cities.      Demosthenes  was    never   intrusted 
with  any  high  office  of  responsibility;   Cicero  was  honored 
with  all  the  regular  offices  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  gift  of 
the  people. 

3.  Both  were  driven  from  their  homes.     Demosthenes  was 
banished  for  his  own  faults,  in  disgrace ;  Cicero,  for  his  patri- 
otic virtues,  in  honor  and  amid  the  tears  of  the  Senate  and 
people. 

4.  Both  excelled  in  the  art  of  Oratory.     Demosthenes  in 
the  style  of  his  eloquence,  was  ever  grave  and  serious ;  Cicero 
often  indulged  in  pleasantry  to  a  fault. 

5.  Both   were    solicited    with    bribes.      Demosthenes    is 
charged  with  corruption ;  Cicero  repelled   every  solicitation 
to  wrong. 

6.  Both   were    ambitious.     Demosthenes    never    suffered 
personal  aims  or  interests  to  appear;  Cicero  was  egotistical 
and  ostentatious. 

7.  Both  met  with  a  violent  termination  of  their  career. 
Demosthenes  perished,  a  bold,  determined  suicide,  from  poi- 
son, at  the  foot  of  a  religious  altar  ;  Cicero,  a  weak,  irresolute 
fugitive,  was  miserably  beheaded  by  the  wayside,  in  the  litter 
in  which  he  had  attempted  his  escape. 

§  101.  The  Law  of  Completeness,  in  Comparison  and 
Contrast,  requires  that  all  the  points  of  resemblance  or 


COMPARISON    AND    CONTR|B|J  3J  J  V  IE  105 

^v  CA      o;ar     *\  ^>* 

of  difference  be  stated,  which  are  necessary  fully  to  ex- 
hibit the  theme. 

Correct  the  faults  in  the  following  exercises. 


I.     THEME. —  The  Planet  Jupiter  resembles  the  Earth  in  many 
particulars. 

1.  It  is  flattened  at  its  poles ; 

2.  It  has  four  moons ; 

3.  It  has  an  atmosphere  ; 

4.  It  shines  by  reflected  light,  as  is  proved  by  its  eclips- 
ing its  moons,  and  by  its  being  eclipsed  by  them,  as  the  earth 
eclipses  the  moon  and  is  eclipsed  by  it ; 

5.  It  has  dark  bands  crossing  its  disk ; 

6.  It  revolves  on  its  axis  once  in  a  little  less  than  ten 
hours. 

It  is  unlike  the  earth  in  diverse  respects : 

7.  Its  orbit  is  three  times  as  eccentric ; 

8.  It  is  thirteen  hundred  times  as  large ; 

9.  The  eclipse  of  one  of  its  moons  revealed  to  astronomers 
the  velocity  of  light. 

II.     THEME. — Hope  and  Fear. 

Hope  and  Fear  belong  to  the  same  class  of  mental  states, 
and  accordingly  present  diverse  points  of  agreement  and 
diversity  in  their  respective  natures  and  objects.  Hope 
anticipates  good,  and  desires  it;  Fear  anticipates  evil,  and 
shrinks  from  it.  Hope  is  joyous;  fear  is  sad  and  painful. 
Hope  is  one  of  the  most  deeply-seated  principles  of  our 
nature.  It  is  the  morning's  animating  brightness  to  youth  ; 
the  steady  but  intense  light  of  a  midday  sun  to  manhood; 
the  calm  serenity  of  sunset  to  age.  Like  Fear,  Hope  has  a 
single  eye  to  the  future.  It  is  blind  to  the  past  it  takes 


106  COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST. 

no  note  of  the  present.  Like  fear,  it  is  often  headstrong 
and  mocks  at  counsel,  and  is  deaf  to  the  teachings  of  ex^ 
perience.  Like  fear,  it  keeps  us  active  and  vigilant,  and 
quickens  every  activity.  It  differs  from  desire  in  the  respect 
that  it  fastens  on  those  objects  only  which  it  deems  real 
and  attainable;  while  desire  often  attaches  itself  to  what  is 
illusive  and  beyond  our  reach. 

§  102.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  COMPARISON  AND 
CONTRAST. 

Here,  as  the  theme  ever  belongs  to  a  class,  it  is  necessary 
to  present  it  to  the  mind  in  that  light.  We  then  look  over 
the  class  'to  which  it  belongs,  and  select  another  of  the  same 
class,  which  by  its  resemblances  or  differences  will  best  rep- 
resent the  theme.  We  then  study  out  these  resemblances 
and  differences  carefully,  and  select  such  as  will  best  answer 
our  purpose. 

The  method  of  arrangement  will  be  either  to  state  first 
the  resemblances  and  then  the  differences  or  the  reverse ;  or 
to  take  particular  features  and  exhibit  both  the  resemblances 
and  the  differences  in  that  feature  together,  and  then  pass  to 
the  next  feature.  Thus  we  might  take  the  gravity  of  the 
earth  and  compare  it  with  that  of  Venus,  stating  first  the 
resemblance  in  the  law  of  gravity  being  the  same,  and  then 
the  difference  in  the  actual  weight ;  then  the  figure  and 
shape  as  being  similar,  both  being  nearly  but  not  exactly 
round,  and  rough  or  jagged  on  the  surface,  but  Venus  being 
about  one -tenth  of  the  earth  in  size  ;  then  the  supply  of  light 
and  heat,  being  alike  in  rpceiving  all  from  the  sun,  but  un- 
like in  amount — Venus  receiving  nearly  twice  as  much  as 
the  earth ;  and  thus  proceed  with  the  other  features.  Or 
the  particulars  of  resemblance  might  all  be  stated  first,  and 
then  those  of  difference. 

We  carry  forward  our  enumeration   of  the  points   of  re- 


COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST.  107 

semblance  or  difference,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  for  our 
particular  purpose  in  writing. 

We  will  take  for  illustration 4he  theme,  "the  Oak,"  to  be 
compared  and  contrasted  with  some  one  of  the  same  class  of 
objects.  The  oak  belongs  to  the  class  of  forest  trees.  In 
determining  which  of  other  forest  trees  to  select,  we  should 
have  regard  to  the  object  for  which  we  write,  and  the  means 
we  have  of  information  about  it.  If  we  write  for  the  pur- 
pose of  informing  another  person  about  the  oak,  we  take  a 
tree  with  which  both  he  and  ourselves  are  familiar.  Some- 
times, however,  we  may  wish  simply  to  compare  two  given 
trees.  We  will  take  uthe  elm."  We  now  compare  the  two 
together  in  respect  to  country,  soil,  growth,  size,  shape,  roots, 
trunk,  branches,  foliage,  seed ;  history  of  cultivation ;  uses 
for  fuel,  shade,  food,  and  in  the  arts,  as  for  building  and 
tanning.  We  take  such  of  these  particulars  or  such  groups 
of  them  as  will  suit  our  purpose,  noting  the  resemblances 
and  differences  .in  respect  to  each  particular  selected,  and 
setting  them  down  in  order ;  or  we  state  all  the  resemblances 
in  respect  to  each  particular  first,  and  then  the  differences. 
Or,  we  may  confine  our  statement  to  the  resemblances  or  to 
the  differences,  omitting  the  contrast  in  the  one  case,  and 
the  comparison  in  the- other.  We  should  violate  order,  were 
we  to  intermingle  particulars  of  one  group  with  those  of 
another,  or  place  those  of  any  one  group  out  of  their  natural 
order. 

If  we  take  an  abstract  theme,  as,  for  instance,  "  Glut- 
tony," and  compare  it  with  another  vice,  "  Drunkenness," 
the  process  will  be  similar.  They  both  belong  to  the  same 
class  of  vices  against  self-control.  We  run  over  the  partic- 
ulars in  respect  to  which  they  may  be  compared,  and  we  see 
we  may  enumerate  the  source  and  occasion  of  the  vices 
respectively,  their  growth  into  confirmed  habits,  and  their 
effects.  In  regard  to  each  of  these  several  groups,  we  may 


108  COMPARISON   AND    CONTRAST. 

go  farther  and  specify, in  comparison  or  contrast,  as  the  case 
may  be,  in  respect  to  the  natural  appetites  of  hunger  and 
thirst  planted  for  wise  ends  in  human  nature,  but  perverted 
in  each  vice  by  excessive  indulgence  in  food  or  drink,  on 
occasions  of  conviviality,  when  social  instincts  are  likewise 
abused  through  defect  of  moral  control  to  resist  contempt,  or 
through  want  of  self-control  and  culpable  abandonment  to 
bodily  propensities ;  the  power  of  repetition  in  forming  habits ; 
the  growing  insensibility  to  conscience,  reason,  self-respect, 
and  reputation;  the  increase  of  appetite,  till  it  obtains  ab- 
solute dominion  ;  the  effects  on  body  and  mind,  on  charac- 
ter, kindred,  and  society  for  this  life  and  the  future.  This 
last  group  of  particulars,  it  will  be  noticed,  embraces  rela- 
tions— the  relations  of  the  vices  as  causes  to  their  effects ; 
and  will,  therefore,  illustrate  the  process  of  analogical  com- 
parison and  contrast. 

§  103.  Mention  points  of  resemblance  and  of  difference  in 
the  following  themes. 

1.  The  Horse  and  the  Ox. 

2.  The  Apple  and  the  Grape. 

3.  The  Oak  and  the  Pine. 

4.  The  Planet  Yenus,  and  the  Star  Siriua. 

5.  A  Cloud  and  a  Fog. 

6.  A  Coral  Reef  and  the  Andes. 

7.  Vegetable  Physiology  and  Botany. 

8.  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy. 

9.  History  and  Chronology. 

10.  A  State  and  a  Family. 

11.  A  Republic  and  a  Confederacy. 


CONFIRMATION.  109 


12.  Paganism  and  Mohammedanism 

13.  Grecian  and  Roman  Civilization. 

14.  Ancient  and  Modern  Art. 

15.  Pride  and  Envy. 

16.  Imagination  and  Taste. 

17.  Music  and  Painting. 

18.  Morality  and  Piety. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CONFIRMATION. 

§  104.  CONFIRMATION  is  that  form  of  Discussion  in 
which  the  object  is  to  prove  a  truth  or  disprove  an 
error. 

This  object  is  effected  by  the  EXHIBITION  of  PROOF. 

§  105.  The  Theme  in  Confirmation  is  ever  a  judg- 
ment which  may  be  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  logical 
proposition ;  as  "  the  soul  is  immortal ;"  "  Caesar  was 
not  justified  in  crossing  the  Rubicon." 

§  106.  The  mind  addressed  may  be  in  any  one  of 
three  different  states ;  either  without  any  belief,  in 
weak  faith,  or  in  positive  disbelief. 

§  107.  Belief  admits  of  degrees ;  and  may  vary  from 
a  faint  probability  to  absolute  certainty. 

§  108.  Proof  is  either  DIRECT  or  INDIRECT. 


110  CONFIRMATION. 

It  is  DIRECT,  when  applied  immediately  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  proposition. 

It  is  INDIRECT,  when  it  is  applied  to  the  overthrow 
of  objections.  In  this  case,  it  is  called  REFUTATION. 

Distinguish  the  Direct  from  the  Indirect  proofs  in  the 
following  arguments: 

The  Ourang-Outang  does  not  belong  to  the  human  species ; 
for, 

1.  Its  natural  posture,  as  determined  by  its  very  form,  is 
not  erect,  but  stooping. 

2.  While  it  sometimes  goes  on  two   feet,  this   motion  is 
unnatural  and  awkward,  and  it  is  ever  prone  to  support  its 
movement  by  its  fore  limbs. 

3.  Its  fore   limbs  are  proportionately  much  longer   than 
the  human  arm,  while  the  lower  or  hinder  limbs  are  shorter 
than  those  of  man. 

4.  Its  feet  are   five-toed  and   long;  but  they  are  narrow 
and  formed  like  the  hand;  so  that  while  man  is  bimanous, 
it  is  quadrimanous. 

5.  Many  of  the  bones,  as  those  of  the  nose  and  the  heel, 
are  unlike  those  of  the  human  skeleton. 

6.  The  teeth  are  differently  arranged  from  those  of  man. 

7.  It  is  totally  wanting  in  all  rational  qualities. 

Mr.  Burke,  in  urging  concessions  1o  America,  presented 
the  following  arguments : 

I.  The  condition  of  America  demanded  concession,  as 
seen  in 

1.  Its  large  and  increasing  population; 

2.  Its  valuable  commerce; 

3.  Its  advanced  agriculture  ; 

4.  Its  extensive  fisheries. 


CONFIRMATION.  Ill 

II.  If  America   is   so   valuable,  it   may   be  thought  that 
force  may  be  justifiable  in  retaining  it.     But, 

1.  Force  is  temporary;  war  can  not  be  perpetual ; 

2.  It  is  uncertain  in  its  issues ; 

3.  It  impairs,  by  its  destructive  effects,  the  value  of  its 
object; 

4.  It  is  justified  by  no  experience. 

III.  The  temper  and  character  of  the  Americans  call  for 
concessions.    Love  of  freedom  is  the  predominating  feature — 
a  spirit, 

1.  Inherited  from  their  English  parentage ; 

2.  Strengthened  by  their  form  of  government; 

3.  Fostered  by  their  religion  ; 

4.  Promoted  by  their  domestic  institutions; 

5.  Cultivated  in  their  education  ; 

6.  Confirmed  by  their  remoteness  from  the  parent  country. 

§  109.  A  complex  proposition,  embracing  several  con- 
stituent propositions,  may  be  proved  by  the  separate  and 
successive  proof  of  each  constituent  part. 

Thus  the  proposition,  u  Civilization  is  dependent  on  Chris- 
tianity," may  be  separated  into  the  following  constituent  prop- 
ositions, viz. : 

Civil  Government  is  dependent  on  Christianity  j 

The  arts  are  dependent  on  Christianity ; 

Education  is  dependent  on  Christianity; 

The  manners  and  morals  of  society  are  dependent  on  Chris- 
tianity. 

Or,  we  may  divide  the  proposition  into  constituent  parts 
in  reference  to  its  predicate,  Christianity,  as : 

Civilization  depends  on  Christianity  for  its  fundamental 
principles ; 


112  CONFIRMATION. 

Civilization  depends 'on  Christianity  for  its  spirit  and  char- 
acter ; 

Civilization  depends  on  Christianity  for  the  animating  and 
sustaining  elements  of  its  advancement. 

§  110.  In  resolving  complex  propositions  into  the 
simple  propositions  of  which  they  consist,  the  principles 
of  analysis,  as  stated  in  §§  68-85,  are  to  be  observed. 

The  Laws  of  Unity,  Selection,  Method,  and  Complete- 
ness, will  apply  in  their  full  force. 

Correct  the  faults  in  the  following  exercises. 


I.     PROPOSITION. —  The  Government  of  Great  Britain  is  a 

Free  Government. 

PROOF  1.  The  principles  of  its  Constitutional  Law  are  fa- 
vorable to  freedom. 

2.  The  actual  working  of  the  government  is  friendly  to 
freedom. 

3.  Its  institutions  are  free. 

4.  Its  Judiciary  is  a  protection  to  freedom. 

5.  Its  Executive  administration  is  favorable  to  human 
rights. 

II.     PROPOSITION. —  Christianity  is  favorable  to  Poetry. 

PROOF  1.  It  addresses  itself  to  the  highest  faculties  of  the 
soul. 

2.  It  furnishes  the  most  inspiring  themes. 

3.  Its   own  spirit   is   of  the  most  exalted  and  exalting 
character. 

4.  It  gives  scope  to  the  most  soaring  imagination. 

5.  It  educates  society  to  the  highest  degrees  of  intelli- 


CONFIRMATION.  113 

gence  and  refinement  for  the  due  appreciation  of  the  best 
forms  of  poetry. 

6.  It  calls  forth  the  deepest  and   purest  emotions,  and 
ministers  life  and  warmth  to  the  poetic  spirit. 

III.     PROPOSITION. —  The  Fine  Arts  are  favorable  to  a  pure 
Morality. 

PROOF. — 1.  The  study  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  favorable  to  per- 
sonal morals. 

2.  Poetry  and  Eloquence  are  needed   advocates  of  mo- 
rality.   • 

3.  The  influence  of  the  arts  is  happy  on  society. 

4.  A  pure,  national  architecture,  is  both  refining  to  taste 
and  also  quickens  and  enlarges  patriotic  sentiments. 

Resolve  the  following  complex  propositions  into  their  con- 
stituent single  propositions. 

1.  Games  of  chance  are  hurtful  to  morals. 

2.  The  public  freedom  requires  that  all  offices  of  high 
political  responsibility,  be  filled  by  direct  popular  election. 

3.  It  is  safe  to  encourage  universal  immigration. 

4.  Antiquity  has  been  overrated. 

5.  Tradition  proves  a  universal  deluge. 

6.  Grecian  culture  was  a  deification  of  man. 

7.  Social  justice  was  the  characteristic  principle  of  Roman 
life. 

8.  Sir  Walter  Scott's  writings  are  favorable  to  intellectual 
and  moral  improvement. 

9.  Persecution  is  detrimental  to  whatever  cause  employs  it. 

§  111.  The  first  general  distribution  of  proofs  is  into 
ANALYTIC  and  SYNTHETIC. 

ANALYTIC  PROOFS  are  such  as  are  given  in  the  terms 
of  the  proposition. 
10 


114  CONFIRMATION. 

SYNTHETIC  PROOFS  are  such  as  are  to  be  sought  with- 
out the  proposition. 

The  proposition,  "All  trees  are  organic,"  is  one  that  may 
e  proved  from  the  very  terms  "trees"  and  "organic."  The 
proof  is  found  in  the  meaning  of  those  terms.  So  the  prop- 
osition, "  Dueling  is  murder,"  we  prove  by  analyzing  the 
terms  "dueling,"  and  "murder."  The  very  notions  ex- 
pressed by  these  words  furnish  the  proof. 

We  can  not  so  prove,  however,  the  proposition,  "  Dueling 
is  a  relic  of  barbarism."  No  analysis  of  the  terms  here  will 
furnish  the  proof.  We  are  compelled  to  search  for  the  proof 
elsewhere  than  in  the  proposition.  This  proof,  thus  obtained 
from  some  other  source  than  the  terms  of  the  proposition 
itself,  is  Synthetic. 

§  112.  ANALYTIC  PROOFS  are  to  be  found  by  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  terms  of  the  proposition. 

Thus,  in  finding  proofs  of  the  proposition,  "  Labor  is  a 
blessing  to  man,"  the  subject,  "  labor,"  is  first  analyzed  in 
reference  to  its  bearing  on  the  predicate — "blessing  to  man." 
Labor,  as  used  in  this  proposition,  is  thus  found  to  be  essen- 
tially "  habitual  activity  in  reference  to  some  end." 

The  predicate  is  then  analyzed  in  reference  to  its  relations 
to  the  subject.  It  is  readily  perceived  that,  as  man  has  a  ra- 
tional nature  essentially  active,  and  is  made  for  happiness,  he 
must,  in  order  to  be  happy,  be  active  ;  his  activity,  if  rational, 
must  be  directed  to  some  end  ;  and  it  must  be  habitual.  The 
proof  is  then  complete  that  to  such  a  being  labor  must  be  a 
blessing. 

Find  analytic  proofs  in  the  following  propositions. 

1.  A  republic  guarantees  individual  freedom. 

2.  Conscience  is  the  surest  guide  to  man. 


CONFIRMATION.  115 

3.  "Wrong-doing  blinds  the  conscience. 

4    Imprisonment  for  debt,  without  fraud,  is  unjust. 

5.  Tyranny  justifies  resistance. 

6.  Education  can  not  be  effected  by  mere  class-room  in- 
struction or  lecturing. 

7.  Lying  is  never  justifiable. 

§  113.  SYNTHETIC  PROOFS  may  be  distributed  into 
Intuitive  and  Empirical. 

INTUITIVE  PROOFS  are  such  as  are  given  by  the  mind 
itself; 

EMPIRICAL  PROOFS  are  such  as  are  to  be  sought  with- 
out the  mind. 

Thus  the  proof  of  the  proposition,  that  "  The  sum  of  the 
three  angles  of  a  triangle,  is  equal  to  two  right  angles,"  lies 
in  the  mind  itself.  So,  too,  the  proof  of  the  proposition, 
"  Goodness  is  lovely,"  is  found  in  our  own  minds.  We  need 
not  to  inquire  elsewhere  for  proofs. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  proposition  that  "  The  orbits  of  the 
planets  are  ellipses."  We  need  to  go  to  observation,  or  to 
the  testimony  of  others  who  have  observed,  for  the  proof. 
Mere  thinking  will  never  supply  the  proof  as  in  the  other 
case. 

Find  intuitive  proofs  of  the  following  propositions. 

1.  Two  strait  lines  can  not  inclose  a  space. 

2.  A  triangle  can  not  have  more  than  one  angle  as  great 
as  a  right  angle. 

3.  In  a  right-angled  triangle,  the  hypothenuse  is  the  long- 
est side. 

4.  A  circle  that  touches  the  four  sides  of  a  square,  can 
nc'  cut  any  of  its  angles. 

5.  On  a  field,  inclined  forty-five  degrees  to  the  horizon, 


116  CONFIRMATION. 

no  more  blades  of  grass  can  grow  than  on  one-half  as  much 
of  level  ground. 

6.  If  an  electro -galvanic  circuit  were  established   round 
the  globe,  and  the  current  be  assumed  to  be  instantaneous 
from  point  to  point,  then  messages  dispatched  eastwardly  and 
westwardly  at  the  same  instant,  will  reach  the  same  point 
half  round  the  earth  :   one,  twelve  hours  before  the  time  of 
starting  as  noted  at  the  place  from  which  it  started,  and  the 
other  twelve  hours  after  that  time  as  marked  by  the  clock 
at  the  place  of  meeting.        r 

7.  If  two  persons  go  due  east  round  the  earth,  starting, 
one  on  the  parallel  of  ten  degrees,  and  the  other  on  the  par- 
allel of  twenty  degrees  of  north  latitude,  their  paths  will  cross 
each  other. 

8.  Space  is  unlimited. 

9.  If  the  Spartan  government  favored  theft,  still,  every 
enlightened  Spartan  conscience  must  have  condemned  it. 

10.  No  virtuous  act  can  fail  of  its  reward  if  conscience  live. 

§  114.  EMPIRICAL  PROOFS  are  distributed  into  three 
kinds :  ANTECEDENT  PROBABILITY  or  A  PRIORI  PROOFS, 
SIGNS,  and  EXAMPLES. 

Although  a  priori  proofs  have  been  sometimes  regarded  as 
including  some  that  are  not  proper  antecedent  probability 
proofs,  and  also  as  not  including  others  that  are,  yet  generally 
the  two  designations  nearly  correspond.  And  as  the  term 
•i  priori  is  a  more  common,  and  also  a  less  cumbrous  desig- 
nation, we  prefer  to  use  it. 

§  115.  A  PRIORI  PROOFS  are  founded  on  the  relations 
of  a  cause  to  its  effect,  or  of  a  general  law  to  its  results. 

We  infer,  thus,  that  there  will  be  wretchedness  and  crime 
we  observe  intemperance,  because  we  know  that  intern- 


CONFIRMATION.  117 

perance  leads  to  these  results — is  a  cause  of  them.  The  prev- 
alence of  intemperance  is  an  a  priori  proof  of  wretchedness 
and  crime. 

So  we  may  prove  that  a  certain  river  must  have  been  frozen 
over,  from  the  fact  that  the  temperature  was  very  low.  The 
severe  cold  is  an  a  priori  proof  of  the  formation  of  ice. 

In  like  manner  the  advocate  proves  that  an  accusation  is 
groundless  from  the  character  of  the  accuser.  That  he  is 
unprincipled,  false,  malicious,  and  bitterly  hostile  to  the  ac- 
cused; that  he  is  selfish  and  expects  some  return  from  mak- 
ing the  accusation,  is  an  a  priori  proof  that  the  accusation  is 
groundless. 

Or,  the  advocate  may  prove  the  perpetration  of  an  alleged 
crime,  from  the  character  of  the  accused  and  the  occurrence 
of  a  suitable  occasion.  The  vindictiveness  of  his  temper,  and 
his  presence  at  the  time,  constitute  an  a  priori  proof  of  his 
guilt. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  absence  of  all  inducement  and  oc- 
casion to  commit  an  alleged  crime,  constitutes  an  a  priori 
proof  of  innocence. 

§  116.  The  force  or  validity  of  any  a  priori  proof  will 
vary  with  the  degree  of  certainty  between  the  cause 
and  the  effect,  or  the  law  and  the  result. 

If  the  cause  be  adequate  and  actually  operate,  the 
proof  is  conclusive. 

If  it  be  doubtful,  either  whether  it  be  adequate  or 
whether  it  might  not  have  been  hindered  from  opera- 
ting, the  force  of  the  proof  will  be  so  far  impaired. 

If  the  thermometer  have  fallen  to  zero,  and  the  tempera- 
ture have  continued  at  that  degree  for  any  considerable  time, 
this  will  be  conclusive  proof  to  us  that  exposed  bodies  of 
water  have  been  frozen.  We  need  no  further  proof 


118  CONFIRMATION. 

But  if  we  are  in  doubt  whether  the  cold  has  been  intense 
enough,  our  conclusion  will  be  held  in  suspense.  Or,  in 
case  the  body  of  water  be  large  and  deep,  or  if  we  are  in 
doubt  whether  a  high  wind  may  not  have  prevented  the 
cold  from  forming  ice  on  the  surface,  the  conclusion  may 
be  likewise  suspended. 

Find  a  priori  proofs  of  the  following  propositions. 

1.  Honesty  is  the  best  policy. 

2.  Falsehood  is  dangerous. 

3.  Universal  intelligence  and  piety  will  perpetuate  -free 
institutions. 

4.  Christianity  will    eventually   prevail   throughout   the 
earth. 

5.  Free   institutions   are  the  ultimate  goal  of  European 
progress. 

6.  The  aborigines  of  America  are  destined  to   annihila- 
tion as  distinct  tribes. 

7.  The  studv  of  the  classics  is  necessary  to  the  highest 
intellectual  culture. 

8.  The  feudal  .system  was  beneficial. 

9.  Every  man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 

10.  An  international  copyright  is  unfavorable  to  the  in- 
terests of  learning. 

11.  The    imprisonment    of   Napoleon    Bonaparte    in    St. 
Helena  was  necessary  to  the  peace  of  Europe. 

12.  Foreign  intervention  in  the  political  affairs  of  Italy, 
is  inexpedient. 

13.  Critical  reviews  are  fs viable  to  literature. 

14.  The  Ottoman  empire  \p  doomed  to  speedy  extinction. 

§  117.  SIGNS  are  proofs  which  are  founded  on  the 
relations  of  an  effect  to  its  cause .  PV  *o  the  o^ca-sion  of 
its  operating. 


CONFIRMATION.  119 

The  sign  is  the  dependent  event  or  effect:  the  mat- 
ter to  be  proved,  is  the  cause  or  the  occasion  on  which 
it  depends. 

The  geologist  discovers  the  tracks  of  birds  in  certain  rocks ; 
and  from  this,  he  infers  that  such  birds  lived  there  when 
those  rocks  were  yet  in  their  forming  state.  The  discovered 
tracks  are  the  sign ;  and  the  existence  of  the  birds  in  that 
condition  of  the  rocks,  is  the  fact  proved.  The  tracks  are 
the  dependent  facts  ;  the  existence  of  the  birds  the  necessary 
condition,  without  which,  the  tracks  could  not  have  been. 

In  like  manner,  proofs  which  are  often  employed  in  the 
conviction  of  a  murderer,  like  the  following  :  the  discovery 
of  blood  on  his  garments,  or  of  such  bloody  weapons  in  his 
possession  as  must  have  caused  the  death  wound ;  attempts 
at  flight  or  concealment;  agitation  when  apprehended;  con- 
tradictory statements ;  and  the  like,  are  instances  of  signs. 
We  can  not  account  for  these  facts,  but  on  the  supposition 
of  his  guilt.  His  perpetration  of  the  murder  is  that  on 
which  they  depend  for  their  cause  or  occasion,  without 
which  they  would  not  have  been. 

Find  signs  as  proofs  of  the  following  propositions. 

1.  George  Washington  was  a  true  patriot. 

2.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  ruled  by  a  selfish  ambition. 

3.  Cicero  was  an  honest  but  irresolute  lover  of  his  country, 

4.  Major  Andre  was  a  spy. 

5.  The  work  of  creation  was  progressive. 

6.  The  Alleghany  Mountains  were  formerly  submerged. 

7.  North  America  was  inhabited  by  a  race  of  Indians  of 
higher  civilization  than  the  existing  tribes. 

8.  Civil  government  is  an  ordinance  of  the  God  of  na- 
ture . 

9.  Man  was  made  a  religious  being-. 


1:20  CONFIRMATION. 

10.  Truth  is  stronger  than  error. 

11.  The  human  race  was  one  in  its  origin. 

§  118.  Of  Signs,  there  are  several  varieties.  One 
of  these  is  TESTIMONY,  which  is  the  statement  of  others 
in  regard  to  matters  of  fact. 

The  Roman  historian,  Suetonius,  states  that  Julius  Cgesar 
made  his  expedition  to  Britain  chiefly  to  obtain  pearls. 
Pliny  states,  that  the  pearls  found  there  were  worthless. 
The  testimony  of  Suetonius  is  a  proof  of  the  nature  of  a 
sign.  We  believe  his  statement,  because  we  can  not  account 
for  his  making  it  unless  it  were  a  fact.  So  Pliny's  state- 
ment is  a  sign  proving  to  us  that  the  British  pearls  were 
worthless,  inasmuch  as  unless  the  pearls  were  of  this  char- 
acter, such  a  man  as  Pliny  could  not  have  made  the  statement. 

If  we  can  account  for  the  testimony  on  any  other  ground 
than  that  of  the  existence  of  the  fact  testified  to,  it  so  far 
fails  of  being  a  proof.  If  Suetonius  had  lived  in  another 
age  of  the  world,  or  in  another  country,  and  had  no  means 
of  information  about  Caesar's  expeditions  ;  if  he  was  a  writer 
credulous,  careless,  reckless  of  truth,  then  we  can  account 
for  his  statement  otherwise  than  by  supposing  its  truth. 

When  we  use  testimony  in  proof,  therefore,  we  need  par- 
ticularly to  inquire  whether  the  testimony  may  not  be 
accounted  for  without  supposing  the  truth  of  the  statement, 
and  in  adducing  it  to  guard  against  any  supposition  arising 
in  the  mind  of  the  reader  that  the  statement  could  have 
been  made,  except  on  condition  of  the  fact  having  been  as 
stated. 

Find  signs  in  the  form  of  Testimony  in  proof  of  the  fol- 
lowing propositions. 

1.  Mahomet  was  a  self-deluded  fanatic. 


CONFIRMATION.  121 

2.  Glass  was  used  by  the  Ancient  Romans. 

3.  Profane  history  proves  the  origin  of  Christianity  as 
the  Evangelists  record. 

4.  The  Ancient  Britons  migrated  from  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Black  Sea. 

5.  The  Emperor  Charles  Y  died  a  victim  of  gluttony. 

6.  The  rise  of  free  cities  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  Cru- 
sades. 

7.  Joan  of  Arc  was  a  religious  enthusiast. 

8.  Queen  Elizabeth's  treatment  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
was  the  fruit  of  jealousy. 

9.  The  belief  in  witchcraft,  was  general  throughout  Chris- 
tendom in  the  seventeenth  century. 

10.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  a  development 
of  a  national  life,  not  a  compact  of  State  sovereignties. 

§  119.  AUTHORITY  is  another  variety  of  Signs.  It  is 
the  expressed  opinion  or  judgment  of  others. 

Authority  differs  from  Testimony  in  this :  that  testimony 
respects  a  matter  of  fact;  authority,  a  matter  of  opinion. 
They  are  alike  "signs,  as  they  presuppose  the  fact  or  opinion 
as  that  without  which  the  testimony  or  the  authority  would 
not  have  been  presented.  The  opinion  pronounced  by  a  court 
of  justice,  has  force  or  validity  in  commanding  our  assent 
as  authority  ;  because  it  can  not  be  supposed  that  it  would 
be  pronounced  unless  it  were  correct.  If  the  tribunal  from 
which  it  proceeded  were  impeached  of  incompetency  or  cor- 
ruption, the  authority  of  its  decisions  would  be  so  far  inval- 
idated; for  in  this  case,  another  ground  for  the  opinion  would 
exist  besides  the  truth  or  justice  of  the  case. 

Find  signs  in  the  form  of  authority  to  support  the  follow- 
ing propositions. 

1.  Piety  is  favorable  to  learning. 
11 


122  CONFIRMATION. 

2.  The  English  language  is,  of  all  modern  languages,  the 
best  medium  of  poetical  expression. 

3.  Total  abstinence  is  the  only  sure  remedy  for  intem- 
perance. 

4.  Morning  hours  are  most  favorable  to  intellectual  vigor. 

5.  Civilization  has  been  progressive  from  the  earliest  ages, 

§  120.  It  is  obvious,  from  the  very  nature  of  signs  as 
proofs,  that  the  simple  fact  of  CONCURRENCE  will  give 
additional  force  to  testimony  and  to  authority. 

This  additional  validity  will  depend  upon  this :  whether 
the  concurrence  can  be  accounted  for  in  any  other  way 
than  on  the  supposition  of  the  fact  or  opinion  being  as 
stated. 

If  several  entirely  independent  witnesses,  who  have  had  no 
opportunity  of  collusion,  agree  in  their  statements,  the  testi- 
mony may  be  conclusive  even  although  each  of  the  witnesses 
be  utterly  untrustworthy  in  character.  We  can  not  account 
for  the  concurrence  except  on  the  ground  that,  what  they 
have  independently  agreed  in  stating,  is  true.  The  separate 
examination  of  criminals  often  thus  evolves  agreement  in 

o 

certain  particular  statements,  which  on  the  simple  ground  of 
this  agreement  compels  our  belief,  although  the  substance  of 
their  statements  may  be  known  to  be  false. 

In  the  same  way,  when  men,  acting  on  entirely  independ- 
ent grounds,  come  to  harmonious  results  in  opinion,  the  very 
concurrence  will  give  weight  to  their  authority,  when  each 
separately  could  command  little  or  no  respect.  The  concur- 
ring decisions  of  judicial  tribunals,  in  different  states  and  coun- 
tries, become  invested  with  impregnable  authority. 

Find  proofs  from  concurrence  of  the  following  truths: 
1.  The  existence  of  God. 


CONFIRMATION.  123 

2.  A  universal  deluge. 

3.  The  credibility  of  the  Mosaic  history. 

4.  The  historic  appearance  of  Jesus  Christ. 

5.  The  descent  of  the  aborigines  of  America  from  Asiatic 
ancestors. 

§  121.  EXAMPLES  are  proofs  which  are  founded  on 
the  resemblance  between  individuals  of  the  same  class. 

The  naturalist  finds  a  plant  to  have  certain  organs ;  this 
fact  is  proof  to  him  that  any  other  plant  of  the  same  variety 
will  have  the  same  organs. 

If  we  have  once  detected  falsehood  in  a  man,  the  fact  will 
strengthen  other  proof  going  to  convict  him  of  the  same  of- 
fense at  another  time. 

These  are  both  instances  of  examples  as  proofs.  They  both 
rest,  as  proofs,  on  resemblance. 

It  will  appear  on  a  moment's  reflection,  that  examples  have 
a  close  affinity  to  a  priori  proofs.  Both  direct  the  mind  to  a 
cause  or  law,  and  both  rest  their  validity  as  proofs  on  the 
assumed  uniformity  of  the  operations  of  nature.  Only  as  we 
believe  that  the  same  cause  works  ever,  in  the  same  circum- 
stances, the  same  effect,  does  either  kind  of  proofs  command 
our  assent. 

§  122.  When  the  examples  adduced  conduct  us  to  the 
belief  that  the  whole  class  to  which  they  belong  possess 
the  same  properties,  the  proof  is  called  INDUCTION. 

We  take  up  a  lily,  and  find  its  flower  has  six  divisions  and 
six  stamens.  It  is  proof  to  us  that  the  next  lily  which  we 
pluck  is  six-lobed  also,  and  has  six  stamens.  This  is  an  in- 
stance of  a  simple  example.  But  we  go  farther  and  conclude 
that  all  lilies  have  like  organs.  This  is  Induction. 


124  CONFIRMATION. 

One  instance  of  detected  falsehood  proves,  as  a  simple 
example,  that  another  statement  may  be  false.  When  we  con- 
clude that  the  whole  character  is  false,  or  that  falsehood 
characterizes  a  whole  class  of  statements,  the  argument  is 
that  from  Induction. 

§  123.  When  the  resemblance,  which  constitutes  the 
essential  nature  of  an  example  as  a  proof,  respects  re- 
lations, not  simple  properties,  the  proof  is  called  an 
ARGUMENT  FROM  ANALOGY. 

When,  thus,  from  the  relations  of  the  earth  to  its  inhab- 
itants we  infer  that  the  other  planets  are  also  inhabited,  we 
have  an  instance  of  an  argument  from  analogy. 

§  124.  Examples  may  be  REAL  or  INVENTED. 

REAL  Examples  are  such  as  are  taken  from  known 
facts. 

INVENTED  Examples  are  such  as  are  supposed  or  im- 
agined for  the  occasion. 

An  invented  example  was  used  by  Socrates  to  convince  the 
Athenians  of  the  absurdity  of  their  custom  of  choosing  magis- 
trates by  lot.  He  supposed  a  company  of  mariners  who 
should  select  a  steersman  not  from  his  proved  competency 
or  skill,  but  merely  by  the  chances  of  a  lot.  The  same  ab- 
surdity, so  obvious  in  this  supposed  case,  is  proved  by  the 
example  as  a  proof,  to  attach  to  their  mode  of  electing  magis- 
trates. 

The  vanity  of  riches  is  proved  by  means  of  an  invented 
example,  in  the  familiar  tale  of  Ortogrul  of  Basra,  by  Dr. 
Johnson. 

§  125.  The  very  nature  of  this  kind  of  proofs  requires 


CONFIRMATION.  125 

that  the  example  belong  to  the  same  class  as  the  object 
or  fact  to  which  it  is  applied  as  proof. 

The  special  difficulty  in  applying  this  rule  arises  from  the 
fact  that,  as  before  remarked,  §  99,  there  are  so  many  prin- 
ciples on  which  objects  may  be  classed  together,  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  bring  into  the  same  class  any  two  objects  of  thought, 
however  unlike.  Because  two  objects  may  be  classed  to- 
gether, however,  on  one  principle,  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  may  be  so  classed  in  respect  to  all  particulars.  The 
plum  and  the  pear  are  both  fruits ;  but  it  would  not  be  al- 
lowable to  conclude  from  a  plum  containing  a  stony  seed- 
vessel,  that  a  pear  has  a  like  seed-vessel,  although  both  be- 
long to  the  same  class  of  objects — fruits.  The  principle  on 
which  the  class  is  formed  must  embrace  the  particular  in- 
volved in  the  argument,  or  the  reasoning  is  fallacious. 

The  plum  and  the  pear  do  not  belong  to  the  same  class 
of  objects  in  respect  to  the  seed-vessel.  Botanists  call  the 
one  a  "  drupe,"  the  other  a  "  pome."  As  fruits,  however,  it 
would  be  safe  to  reason  from  one  to  the  other  in  the  way  of 
example ;  as,  that  if  the  plum  contains  the  seed-vessel  of  the 
tree,  so  the  pear  will  be  found  to  contain  it;  that  as  the 
plum  will  ripen,  so  also  will  the  pear  ripen  in  congenial  cir- 
cumstances ;  that  as  the  seed  of  the  one  will,  if  properly 
placed,  germinate  and  produce  a  tree  after  its  kind,  so  also 
will  the  other.  No  fallacy  in  reasoning  by  examples  is  more 
common  than  this.  It  is  a  fallacy  that  can  be  detected  and 
shunned  only  by  applying  the  principle  :  Do  they  belong  to 
the  same  class  in  respect  to  the  particular  involved  in  the 
comparison  ? 

Now,  we  are  safe  in  assuming,  from  the  admitted  uniform- 
ity of  nature,  that  if  but  one  cause  operate,  or  but  a  single 
law  apply,  and  in  precisely  the  same  circumstances,  the  effect 
will  be  the  same.  Where,  then,  we  can  clearly  detect  the  one 


126  CONFIRMATION. 

cause  or  law,  wo  can  safely  conclude  the  effects  will  be  the 
same.  If  the  law  were  ascertained  to  be  the  same  for  the 
formation  of  the  seed-vessel  of  the  plum  as  of  the  pear — the 
same  as  it  is  for  the  seed-vessels  of  all  plums — then  one  ex- 
ample of  the  seed-vessel  in  a  plum,  would  be  sufficient  for 
determining  that  of  a  pear.  So  far  as  both  are  fruits,  the  law 
is  the  same  for  both.  It  is  often,  however,  difficult  or  im- 
possible to  ascertain  whether  there  be  but  one  cause  or  one 
law  operating  in  the  case.  We  are,  hence,  obliged  to  adduce 
more  examples  than  one  to  make  out  a  satisfactory  proof. 
Ope  example  of  a  fruit  taken  from  a  new  tree,  will  satisfy 
th<Q  botanist  as  to  what  will  be  true  of  all  the  other  fruit  on 
the  tree  in  regard  to  many  particulars,  as  its  being  a  stone- 
fruit,  or  a  proper  fleshy-fruit;  its  predominant  color;  its 
general  size,  and  shape,  flavor,  and  the  like.  It  will  not 
warrant  him  in  concluding  as  to  the  exact  size,  and  color, 
and  taste,  because  other  subordinate  causes,  as  position  on 
the  tree,  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  the  like,  may  come  in  to 
modify  the  general  operation  of  the  law. 

The  rule  comes  practically  to  be  modified  into  the  follow- 
ing twofold  form. 

§  126. — l.N  Either  let  it  appear  that  a  single  cause 
or  law  determines  both  the  example  arid  the  fact  to 
be  proved,  in  respect  to  the  particular  of  compari- 
son: or, 

2.  Multiply  examples  so  far  as  necessary,  to  show 
that  but  one  law  or  cause  can  thus  operate. 

Remark. — In  the  exercises  that  follow,  the  fallacy  will  be  exposed 
by  indicating  either,  1.  That  different  causes  manifestly  operate  in 
the  two  cases  of  the  proof  and  the  fact  to  be  proved;  or,  2.  That  it 
does  not  sufficiently  appear  that  but  one  cause  operates  in  the  two 
cases.  \ 


CONFIRMATION.  127 

Detect  the  fallacies  in  the  following  arguments : 

The  great  mountain-chains  of  the  globe  run  north  and  south, 
as  is  proved  by  the  Eocky  Mountains  and  the  Cordilleras. 

The  winds  are  everywhere  variable  and  uncertain,  as  the 
meteorological  registers  of  the  country  show. 

All  trees  drop  their  leaves  in  the  autumn,  as  the  oak  and 
the  apple. 

All  flowers  are  made  only  for  the  fruit,  into  which  they 
finally  pass,  as  the  strawberry  and  the  almond. 

Lead  and  iron  are  metals ;  but  iron  is  attracted  by  the 
lodestone  ;  therefore,  lead  must  be  so  attracted. 

The  moon  changed  last  Wednesday,  and  a  storm  occurred 
on  Thursday.  The  moon  will  change  to-morrow;  a  storm 
may,  therefore,  be  expected  the  next  day. 

Transparent  bodies  are  brittle ;  for  glass  is  transparent 
and  is  also  brittle. 

The  year  which  followed  the  appearance  of  the  great  comet 
in  1843,  was  characterized  by  an  unusual  fruit  harvest  in 
the  United  States.  The  appearance  of  comets  may  be  re- 
garded, therefore,  as  presaging  an  unusual  fruit  product  in 
that  country. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  says,  that  the  Arawaks  ate  the  bodies 
of  their  deceased  friends,  in  token  of  honor  and  affection. 
Cannibalism  is  to  be  ascribed,  therefore,  to  the  sentiment  of 
respect  and  reverence. 

Homer  and  Milton,  the  greatest  poets  that  have  lived, 
were  blind.  Therefore,  blindness  is  favorable  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  poetic  spirit. 

Some  intemperate  men  have  lived  long  lives  ;  intemper- 
ance, therefore,  is  not  detrimental  to  health  and  life. 

Cornaro  measured  out  to  himself  the  exact  quantity  of 
food  to  be  taken  every  day,  and  lived  to  a  great  age.  Lon- 
gevity is  to  be  attained,  therefore,  by  taking  a  uniform  allow- 
ance of  food,  irrespectively  of  the  demands  of  appetite. 


128  CONFIRMATION. 

Lord  Byron  lived  an  irregular  life.  To  be  poets,  then, 
we  must  live  irregular  lives. 

Lord  Byron  was  a  cripple.     All  cripples  will  be  geniuses. 

Pliny  lost  his  life  in  exploring  the  phenomena  of  nature ; 
therefore  the  pursuits  of  science  must  be  dangerous. 

The  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  Frank  are  of  the  Cauca- 
sian race,  and  are  all  civilized ;  therefore  Caucasians  are  all 
civilized. 

About  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  some  Irish 
rebels  of  the  same  race  in  Ulster,  were  driven  into  exile  ; 
some  east,  some  west.  The  descendants  of  the  eastern  exiles 
are  perfect  specimens  of  human  beauty  and  vigor ;  those  of 
the  western  exiles,  reduced  by  hunger  and  ignorance,  have 
become  low  in  stature,  ill-shaped,  coarse-featured,  of  the 
lowest  barbarian  type.  Ignorance  and  want,  it  is  concluded^ 
will,  in  the  course  of  two  centuries,  without  the  help  of  other 
physical  causes,  effect  the  widest  differences  between  descend- 
ants of  the  same  race  of  men. 

Distinguish  the  different  kinds  of  examples  in  the  follow- 
ing proofs. 

I.  PROPOSITION. —  The   shell  of  the    Oyster  is  in  place  of 

a  Bone. 

PROOF. — 1.  The  bases  of  the  muscles  are  fixed  in  it,  as  the 
muscles  of  the  ox  are  fixed  in  its  several  bones. 

2.  The  lobster  and  other  shell-fish  have  the  bases  and 
support  for  their  muscles  and  tendons  without,  instead  of 
within,  as  in  the  case  of  proper  vertebrated  animals. 

II.  PROPOSITION. — North-western  Europe  owes  its  mild  tem- 
perature to  the  influence  of  the  winds  and  currents  of  the 
ocean. 

PROOF. — 1 .  The  seeds  and  plants  of  the  tropical  regions  of 


CONFIRMATION.  129 

South  America  are  found   on  the   shores   of  Scotland  and 
Norway. 

2.  Russian  America  has  a  much  milder  climate  than  the 
ame  latitude  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  American  continent. 


III.  PROPOSITION. —  The  Physical  forms  of  the  South  Amer- 
-ican  Continent  determine  its  Climate  and  its  Fertility. 

PROOF. — 1.  If  the  Cordilleras  chain  of  mountains  were 
placed  along  the  eastern,  instead  of  along  the  western  coast, 
they  would  drain  of  their  moisture  the  trade-winds  of  the 
Atlantic,  to  the  warmth  and  moisture  of  which  the  plains 
of  the  Amazon  owe  their  fertility,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  would  lower  their  temperature. 

2.  The   plains   of  the  Ganges  owe  their  fertility  to  the 
winds  of  the  tropics,  that  gradually  lose  their  warmth  and 
their  moisture  as  they  pass  into  the  interior,  while  on  the 
table-lands  beyond  them  is  only  drouth  and  desert  like  the 
desert  of  Atacama. 

3.  The  eastern  slopes   of  the  continent  are  remarkably 
fertile  ;  while  the  western  are  dry  and  barren. 

IV.  PROPOSITION. —  The  Human  Species,  as  it  wanders  far- 
ther away  from  the  place  of  its  origin,  falls  away  in  its 
Physical  Form,  its  original  Mental  and  Moral  Type,  till  at 
last  it  becomes  extinct. 

PROOF. — 1.  The  tribes  of  man  most  closely  related  to  the 
Caucasian,  are  the  most  elevated. 

2.  The  Mongolian  is  higher  in  form  and  condition  than 
the  Malay;  the  North  African  than  the  South  African;  the 
African  than  the  South  American. 

3.  The  Atwies  of  South  America  have  recently  become 
extinct,  as  have  also  tribes  of  the  aborigines  of  Australia. 


130  CONFIRMATION. 

Y.     PROPOSITION. — Nations  have  their  periods  of  Rise  and 

Decay. 

PROOF. — 1.  This  is  the  law  of  all  organic  life,  of  vegetables 
and  animals,  both  as  individuals  and  species. 

2.  The  great  nations  of  antiquity  have  passed  away. 

3.  Some  modern  nations  seem  to  have  passed  the  merid- 
ian of  their  prosperity. 

VI.     PROPOSITION. — Adherence  to  Principle  is  the  condition 

of  Success  in  Life. 

PROOF. — 1.  Arnold  and  Aaron  Burr  were  honored  and 
prospered  in  their  earlier  life ;  they  fell  when  they  sacrificed 
the  interests  of  their  country  to  the  dictates  of  jealousy  and 
ambition. 

2.  Washington  repelled  the  seductions  of  power  and  sta- 
tion, and  secured  an  immortality  in  the  gratitude  and  respect 
of  his  countrymen. 

Distinguish  the  different  kinds  of  proofs  in  the  following 
arguments. 

I.     PROPOSITION. — AH  Lotteries  should  be  prohibited  ~by  the 
Civil  Authority. 

PROOF. — 1.  Because  they  encourage  the  vicious  tendency  in 
human  nature  to  rely  for  success  on  fortune  and  accident, 
rather  than  on  direct,  legitimate  endeavor. 

2.  Because,  while  they  create  no  new  value,  they  consume 
much   time,  labor,  and   expense,  which,  otherwise  directed, 
would  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  community. 

3.  Because  individuals  have  been  led  by  them  to  venture 
their  all  to  their  final  ruin  on  the  hazards  of  fortune. 

4.  Because  they  create  useless  anxiety  and  disappointment. 


CONFIRMATION.  131 


II.     PROPOSITION. — 'The  Soul  is  Immortal. 

PROOF. — 1.  It  is  spiritual  and  immaterial. 

2.  It  has  ever-increasing  capacities. 

3.  It  yearns  after  immortality,  and  dreads  annihilation. 

4.  The  attributes  of  God  are  opposed  to  its  annihilation. 

5.  Conscience  demands  it. 

6.  Philosophers  of  all  ages  have  recognized  this  truth. 

In  his  argument  in  the  Grirard  Will  Case,  Mr.  Webster 
assumes  it  to  be  conceded,  that  the  devise  is  void,  except 
on  the  ground  of  the  peculiar  privileges  accorded  in  equit- 
able jurisprudence  to  charities.  He  then  advances  the  posi- 
tion, that  the  devise  is  not  a  charity. 

I.  Because  it  is  derogatory  to  the  Christian  religion,  and 
tends  to  weaken  men's  reverence  for  that  religion,  and  their 
conviction  of  its  authority  and  importance. 

His  proofs  of  this  position  are : 

1.  It  attaches  reproach  and  odium  to  the  whole  clergy  of 
the  country,  by  rejecting  its  teachers  and  the  ordinary  agen- 
cies of  instilling  the  Christian  religion   into   the   minds  of 
the  young. 

2.  It  proceeds  upon  the  presumption  that  the  Christian 
religion   is  not  the  only  true   foundation,  or   any  necessary 
foundation  of  morals. 

3.  It  excludes  the  Christian  Sabbath,  as  also  every  religi- 
ous observance. 

4.  It  denies  the  utility  of  teaching  the  Christian  religion 
to  youth  at  all. 

If,  then,  the  devise  be  derogatory  to  Christianity,  it  can  noi^ 
by  settled  law,  be  privileged  as  a  charity. 

II.  The  devise  can  not  stand  a£  a  charity,  because  it  is 
against  the  public  policy  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 


132  CONFIRMATION. 

1.  The  charter  of  the  State  declares  Christianity  to  be  one 
of  the  great  and  leading  ends  of  government. 

2.  The  laws  of  the  State  against  blasphemy,  and  the  vio- 
lation of  the  Lord's  day,  and  others  proceed  on  the  principle. 

3.  Our  system  of  oaths  is  founded  on  Christianity  and  a 
religious  belief. 

But  the  courts  of  Pennsylvania  have  decided  that  a  chari- 
table bequest,  which  counteracts  the  public  policy  of  the  State, 
can  not  be  sustained. 


Mr.  Webster,  in  the  trial  of  John  Francis  Knapp,  for  the 
murder  of  Joseph  White,  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  while  in 
bed  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  April,  1830,  urges  the  follow- 
ing proofs,  first,  of  a  conspir.icy  on  the  part  of  Knapp  to 
murder  White;  and,  secondly,  of  his  presence  to  aid  and  abet 
in  the  murder. 

I.     Proofs  of  a  conspiracy. 

1.  There  was  concert  and  cooperation. 

a.  Somebody  within  opened  the  house,  and  somebody 
without  entered. 

b.  The  inmates  were  not  alarmed. 

c.  The  way  of  entrance  was  prepared  beforehand,  as  the 
house  was  previously  opened ;  the  window  unbarred  ;  the  fast- 
ening unscrewed ;  the  key  to  Mr.  White's  door  taken  away 
and  secreted. 

d.  There  were  footsteps  out  doors  tending  to  the  window. 

2.  If  Knapp  and  his  brother  were  not  conspirators  with 
Crowninshield,  none  are  known. 

3.  Knapp's  brother  had  a  motive  to  desire  the  death  of 
White. 

4.  He  had  expressed  his  intention  to  destroy  White's  will. 

5.  The  prisoner  was  in  concert  with  Crowninshield,  the 
murderer,  April  2d,  and  on  business  relating  to  the  murder. 


CONFIRMATION.  183 

6.  The  actions  of  the  prisoner  and   his  brother  Joseph 
dhow  guilt. 

a.  Joseph  forges  letters  to  divert  and  distract  inquiry 
after  the  murderers. 

b.  The  brothers  together  pretend  an  assault  upon  them 
by  ruffians. 

c.  On  the  21st  of  April  Joseph  receives  five  hundred 
five  franc  pieces,  the  result  of  an  adventure  at  sea.     On  the 
24th  the  two  brothers  are  at  Wenham  with  Crown inshield. 
Immediately   after  this,  Crowninshield  passes  a  number  of 
pieces  of  this  coin. 

7.  Joseph  Knapp  was  in  White's  house  before  the  murder. 

8.  The  prisoner  was  seen  in  Brown  Street,  in  the  rear  of 
White's  house,  at  a  late  hour  on  the  night  of  the  murder. 

II.     Proofs  of  the  prisoner's  presence  to  aid  and  abet  the 
murder. 

1.  He  was  one  of  the  conspirators  to  the  crime. 

2.  He  had  gone  the  day  before  to  Danvers  to  see  Crown- 
inshield, covering  his  movements. 

3.  He  knew  Capt.  White's  housekeeper  would  be  absent 
from  the  house  on  that  night,  which  was  a  rare  circumstance. 

4.  He   had  been  much  with  the  other  conspirators  for 
some  days  before. 

5.  Of  the  four  conspirators,  he  was  the  one  most  likely  to 
take  the  second  part. 

6.  The  other  two  were  absent. 

7.  His  attempted  proof  of  an  alibi  fails. 

8.  Brown  Street  was  a  probable  place  for  the  conspirators 
to  meet.     It  commands  a  full  view  of  the  house.     It  was 
near  enough,  being  within  call,  to  render  aid. 

9.  The  prisoner  was  in  Brown  Street  at  the  time  of  the 
murder. 

a.  Two  persons,  answering  to  the  persons  of  the  pris- 


134  CONFIRMATION. 

oner  and  the  murderer  Crowninshield,  were  seen  lurking 
about  Brown  Street,  exciting  suspicions  by  stealthy  move- 
ments. 

b.  No  other  explanation  of  these  persons  or  movements 
is  known. 

c.  The  club  used  in  the  perpetration  of  the  crime  was 
found  near  there. 

d.  The  prisoner  was  identified  as  being  in  the  street, 
by  divers  witnesses. 

Mr.  Erskine,  in  his  defense  of  Lord  George  Gordon,  on  a 
charge  of  high  treason,  pursues  the  following  course  of  rea- 
soning. 

I.  He  first  defines  the  statute-crime  of  treason  as  appli- 
cable to  the  present  case,  to  be  that  of  "  levying  war  against 
the  king  in  his  realm,  by  premeditated  open  acts  of  violence, 
hostility,  and  force." 

ARGUMENT. — 1.  All  attempts  to  widen  the  crime  as  thus 
defined,  have  been  repressed. 

2.  The  restrictions  have  been  approved  by  the  most  cele- 
brated writers  on  criminal  law. 

Lord  George  Gordon  can  not  be  guilty  of  treason  unless 
he  has  thus  levied  war  against  the  king. 

He  appointed  the  assembly  of  people  on  the  second  day 
of  June,  1780.  The  question  is,  whether  they  were  so  as- 
sembled with  a  traitorous  intent? 

II.  Mr.  Erskine  then  proceeds  to  apply  the  evidence  in 
the  case  to  this  view  of  the  crime  of  treason,  as  trial  is  only 
"the  reference  of  facts  to  a  certain  rule  of  action." 

1.  The  evidence  of  the  Crown  fails  to  sustain  the  charge; 
not  a  witness  being  found  to  say  that  Lord  Gordon  had  di- 
rected, countenanced,  or  approved  rebellious  force  against  the 
government. 


CONFIRMATION.  135 

2.  The  evidence  for  the  prisoner  establishes  his  innocence 
of  the  charge. 

a.  He  did  not  originate  the  assembly. 

Z>.  It  was  the  act  of  the  whole  association  of  which  he 
was  chairman. 

c.  The  measure  was  adopted  with  open  doors. 

d.  It  was  not  disapproved  of  by  any  minister  or  mag- 
istrate. 

e.  Peace  and  order  were  enjoined  on  the  assembly. 

f.  Lord    Gordon   personally   entreated   peaceable   and 
quiet  behavior. 

g.  After  the  assembly  were  dispersed,  no  man  imagined 
treason  had  been  committed. 

h.  Lord  Gordon  retired  to  bed  unconscious  of  personal 
liability. 

i.  He  denounced  the  authors  of  the  riot,  and  took  active 
measures  to  quell  it. 

j.  The  members  of  Parliament  are  chargeable  with 
misprision  of  treason,  if  there  were  any  signs  of  treasonable 
intent. 

k.  This  trial  has  proceeded  only  from  inversion  of  jus- 
tice, by  judging  from  consequences  instead  of  from  causes  and 
design. 

Mr.  Canning,  in  his  speech  on  the  admission  of  Eoman 
Catholics  to  seats  in  Parliament,  presented  the  following  argu- 
ments under  the  head  of  the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from 
their  admission. 

1.  If,  on  admission,  they  should  combine  to  overthrow 
the  ecclesiastical  establishment,  they  could  effect  it  only,  1st, 
by  force  of  reasoning ;  or  2d,  by  force  of  numbers ;  or  3d,  by 
force  alone. 

2.  Eoman  Catholics  are  already  admitted  to  the  elective 
franchise,  and  to  all  ranks  of  office  in  the  army  and  the  navy. 


136  CONFIRMATION. 

3.  It  is  claimed  that  if  admitted  to  Parliament,  they  might 
also  be  admitted  as  Governors  of  colonies.     They  are  so  ad- 
mitted now. 

4.  In  regard  to  any  apprehended  interference  in  ecclesi- 
astical preferments,  the  bill  expressly  and  anxiously  provided 
against  it. 

5.  It  is  objected  that  Protestants  might  have  conscien- 
tious scruples  about  taking  an  oath  which  recognized  Roman 
Catholic  bishops.     But  the  validity  of  Roman  Catholic  Epis- 
copal ordination  is  recognized  now. 

§  127.  The  arrangement  of  proofs  in  reasoning  will 
depend  on  two  principles : 

1.  The  state  of  mind  addressed; 

2.  The  relation  of  the  proofs  to  each  other. 

§  128.  If  there  be  already,  in  the  mind  addressed,  a 
belief  of  the  proposition  to  be  confirmed  or  proved,  the 
weaker  arguments  should  be  placed  first  and  the  stronger 
last. 

§  129.  If  an  existing  belief  in  the  mind  addressed  is 
to  be  overthrown,  or  a  new  belief  to  be  produced,  the 
stronger  proofs  should  be  first  advanced. 

In  order  to  leave  a  strong  impression  at  the  close, 
some  of  the  stronger  arguments  should  be  left  to  the 
close ;  or,  what  is  better,  the  proofs  may  be  recapitu- 
lated in  the  reverse  order. 

§  130.  Analytic  proofs  should  precede  all  others, 
which  should  generally  follow  in  the  following  order: 
1st.  Intuitive;  2d.  A  priori;  3d.  Examples;  4th.  Signs. 

§  131.  Proofs  closely  related  to  each  other  should  be 
presented  in  connection.  Generally  the  principles  of 


CONFIRMATION.  137 

method  applicable  to  the  different  kinds  of  Explanation 
will  apply  here  also. 

§  132.  If  in  any  case  the  foregoing  principles  of  ar- 
rangement conflict,  preference  should  generally  be  given 
first  to  that  founded  in  the  relation  of  the  matter  in 
the  several  proofs,  §  131 ;  and  next,  to  that  founded  on 
the  classification  of  proofs,  §  130 ;  that  founded  in  the 
state  of  mind  addressed,  §§  128, 129,  being  subordinated 
to  the  others. 

Correct  the  faults  in  method  in  the  following  arguments. 

I.     PROPOSITION. — Excessive  Severity  in  the  penalties  of  Laws 
deadens  their  force. 

1.  In  England  the  concealment  of  a  bankrupt's  effects  is 
seldom  prosecuted,  because  the  penalty  is  so  severe. 

2.  Severe  penalties  awaken  sympathy  with  the  criminal 
rather  than  detestation  of  the  crime,  in  the  popular  mind. 

3.  Witnesses  hold  back  their  testimony  when  the  penal- 
ties are  excessive. 

4.  Frequency  of  severe  punishment  brutalizes  the  public 
sentiment. 

5.  Public  prosecutors  shrink  from  their  duty  when  the 
law  follows  conviction  with  excessive  retributions. 

6.  Penal  laws  ought  to  be  in  unison  with  the  public  feel- 
ing. 

7.  Courts  and  juries  are  biased  to  injustice  when  punish- 
ments are  severe. 

8.  Relaxation  of  penalties  in  England  has  been  attended 
with  diminution  of  crime. 

II.     The  following  arguments  have  been  urged  against  the 
mode  of  voting  l>y  Ballot. 
12 


138  CONFIRMATION. 

1.  It    contracts    the    elective    franchise    by    abating    the 
strongest  inducements  to  its  exercise,  such  as  the  desire  to 
gain  the  favor  of  superiors,  or  leaders  ;  the  kindness  of  fol- 

ow-citizens  ;  the  gratitude  of  candidates. 

2.  The  ballot  does  not  produce  secrecy.    This  is  admitted 
by  the  advocates  of  the  Ballot  to  be  the  case  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons. 

3.  Any  advantage  from  the  Ballot  being  a  less  offensive 
mode  of  voting  than  the  voice,  is  confined  to  a  few.     The 
mass  have  no  secrets. 

4.  The  Ballot  would  deprive  elections  of  all  their  popu- 
lar qualities,  as  excitement,  partisan  enthusiasm,  hostility  to 
opponents,  courage,  and  decision. 

5.  In  the  United  States  of  America,  the  Ballot  is  not  at- 
tended with  secrecy. 

6.  The  Ballot  takes  away  all  motives  to  exercise  the  right 
of  suffrage  but  the  single  one  of  abstract  sense  of  public  duty. 


III.     PROPOSITION. — God  is  Omniscient. 

1.  He  is  Omnipresent. 

2.  He  gives  all  knowledge  to  his  creatures. 

3.  He  could  not  otherwise  be  perfectly  blessed. 

4.  The  Scriptures  declare  his  Omniscience. 

5.  His  universal  providence  requires  it. 

6.  The  infinity  of  his  nature  involves  it. 

7.  His  other  attributes  demand  it. 

8.  Heathen  philosophers  teach  it. 


IV.     PROPOSITION. —  Christianity  is  of  Divine  Origin. 

PROOF. — 1.  From  the  life  and  character  of  Christ. 

2.  From  the  miracles  he  wrought. 

3.  From  the  efficacy  of  its  teachings  on  the  lives  of  men 


CONFIRMATION.  139 

4    From  the  life  and  testimony  of  the  apostles. 

5.  From  the  prophecies. 

6.  From  the  need  of  such  a  religion  to  men. 

7.  From  the  alternative,  that  if  Christianity  be  rejected, 
there  is  no  religion  for  man. 

8.  From  the  miraculous  circumstances  attending  the  birth 
and  death  of  Christ. 

9.  From   the   experience  and  testimony  of  millions   of 
men. 

10.  From  its  meeting  the  convictions  and  the  moral  crav- 
ings of  the  best  and  wisest  of  men. 

11.  From  its  triumphant  progress. 

§  133.  It  often  happens  that  one  side  of  a  question 
may  be  taken  to  be  proved  until  it  is  disproved;  as 
for  example,  "  a  man  is  held  to  be  innocent  until 
proved  guilty."  It  becomes  important,  therefore,  to 
determine  carefully,  in  regard  "to  any  proposition  on 
which  side  this  presumption  lies,  if  at  all ;  as  then  the 
burden  of  proof  will  be  on  the  other  side,  and,  unless 
this  proof  be  conclusive,  the  opposite  must  be  held  to 
be  established.  Unless  a  man  is  proved  to  be  guilty, 
he  is  to  be  esteemed  innocent. 

In  like  manner,  proofs  may  often  be  assumed  as  true. 
In  proof  of  the  Divine  origin  of  Christianity,  thus,  the 
authenticity  of  the  Gospels  may  be  presumed,  until  it 
is  disproved. 

§  134.  There  are  some  general  principles  which  go 
to  determine  the  question  on  which  side  the  presumption 
lies. 

First,  He  who  makes  an  allegation,  is  generally  to 
be  held  to  the  proof  of  it. 


140  CONFIRMATION. 

Secondly,  The  presumption  is  in  favor  of  what 
exists,  and  against  a  change. 

Thirdly,  The  presumption  is  in  favor  of  what  is  right ; 
in  other  words,  the  presumption  should  be  charitable. 

Fourthly,  The  presumption  is  in  favor  of  whatever 
promotes  the  welfare  of  men,  and  against  whatever  is 
restrictive  or  injurious. 

§  135.  One  presumption  may  be  overthrown  by  an- 
other. Thus,  the  second  principle  stated  above,  that 
of  existence  and  continuance,  is  in  favor  of  Moham- 
medanism ;  but  the  fourth  is  against  it :  it  is  adverse 
to  the  highest  welfare  of  men. 

§  136.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  EXERCISES  IN  CONFIRMATION. 

In  selecting  themes,  the  pupil  should  be  careful  to  take 
such  as  lie  within  his  comprehension.  If  he  take  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  should  be  one  about  which  he  possesses  or  can 
obtain  information.  If  it  be  a  truth,  it  should  be  one,  the 
proofs  of  which  he  can  understand  and  collect  or  devise. 
At  first,  abstract  propositions  should  be  avoided. 

For  illustration  of  the  mode  of  preparing  the  exercise,  we 
will  take  the  question :  Wasy  Nero  guilty  of  the  burning  of 
Rome,  in  the  sixty -fourth  year  of  the  Christian  era?  We 
will  undertake  to  prove  the  affirmative. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done,  is  to  state  the  proposition 
which  we  are  to  prove,  in  exact  terms.  It  will,  at  first,  be 
expedient  to  write  it  out  in  form.  We  state  then :  Nero 
was  guilty  of  burning  Rome. 

The  next  step  is  to  analyze  the  terms  of  the  proposition 
by  careful  study.  We  inquire :  Who  was  Nero  ?  what  his 
character?  what  motive  to- cause  the  conflagration?  what 
bearing  the  conflagration  had  on  his  interests  or  pleasure? 


CONFIRMATION.  141 

We  find  that  Nero  was  reckless  of  life  and  property ;  the 
presumption  in  favor  of  his  innocence  is  thus  set  aside. 
He  was  the  man  to  do  such  a  deed.  He  loved  notoriety 
and  was  ready  to  sacrifice  all  for  it.  He  would  naturally 
desire  to  be  known  as  the  restorer  of  the  city.  We  have 
here  a  priori  arguments  derived  from  the  character  of 
Nero. 

We  strengthen  these  arguments  by  similar  acts  of  cruelty 
on  his  part. 

We  meet,  however,  the  fact,  that  Nero  was  at  the  time  at 
Antium.  We  dispose  of  this  objection  by  the  suggestion, 
that  such  absence  was  probably  for  concealment,  and  that 
he  had  fit  tools  in  his  service  for  such  a  barbarity. 

We  now  come  to  other  proofs.  Nero,  after  his  return  to 
the  city,  indulges  in  inhuman  diversions  over  the  destruction 
around  him.  He  gives  no  sign  of  regret ;  makes  no  serious 
effort  to  stop  the  flames  ;  he  amuses  himself  over  the  spread- 
ing ruin. 

Further,  there  were  those  who  stopped  whoever  tried  to 
extinguish  the  flames,  and  even  themselves  applied  torches 
to  spread  the  conflagration,  alleging  that  they  did  so  by 
command. 

The  people  suspected  Nero.  He  was  forced  to  expedients 
to  allay  popular  indignation,  providing  largely  for  the  suffer- 
ing exiles  from  home,  and  criminating  the  Christians. 

Finally,  while  Tacitus  leaves  the  matter  in  doubt,  Sueto- 
nius and  Dion  positively  allege  Nero's  guilt. 

After  collecting  these  materials  of  our  argument,  we  pro- 
ceed to  arrange  them.  We  place  first  the  a  priori  proofs; 
then  the  examples  which  confirm  these  a  priori  proofs ;  then 
the  signs  ;  and  we  have  this  order  : 

1.  Nero's  character  was  such  as  to  make  the  perpetra- 
tion of  such  a  crime  probable. 

2.  His  passion  was  notoriety.     The  burning  of  the  old 


142  CONFIRMATION. 

city  would  enable  him  to  gain  the  reputation  of  being  the 
new  builder  of  Rome. 

These  a  priori  proofs  might  be  fortified  by  proofs  from 
examples  of  his  barbarities  in  other  cases. 

We  then  advance  the  signs. 

1.  His  merriment  over  the  burning  city. 

2.  The  acts  and  allegations  of  those  who  helped  in  the 
conflagration. 

3.  The  citizens  at  the  time  believed  Nero  to  be  the  per- 
petrator. 

4.  Nero   showed   guilt  in  his  endeavors  to  appease  the 
public  feeling. 

5.  The  testimony  of  Suetonius  and  Dion. 

This  method  would  be  the  natural  one,  if  our  argument 
were  addressed  to  those  who  had  no  opinion,  or  had  believed 
Nero  innocent.  To  strengthen  the  impression,  it  might  be 
well  to  recapitulate  the  proofs  in  the  reverse  order. 

But  if  we  were  addressing  a  mind  already  convinced  of 
Nero's  guilt,  our  design  being  to  deepen  that  conviction,  we 
might  advantageously  begin  with  the  testimony  of  the  his- 
torians, and  close  with  an  exposition  of  the  savage  nature 
of  this  worst  of  Roman  tyrants. 

For  further  illustration,  we  will  take  the  theme — the  pre- 
cariousness  of  popular  favor.  We  first  state  it  in  the  form 
of  a  proposition.  Popular  favor  is  precarious. 

Analyzing  the  terms,  we  find  that  popular  feeling  is  super- 
ficial, founded  on  appearances,  impulsive,  transient:  We 
draw  out  our  arguments,  thus  derived  from  the  analysis, 
which  furnish  us  a  priori  proofs  of  its  precariousness. 

Popular  favor  is  precarious,  then,  because — 

1.  It  is  founded  on  superficial  grounds. 

2.  It  springs  from  hasty  judgments. 

3.  It  is  impulsive  and  violent,  and  consequently  transient 


CONFIRMATION.  143 

On  all  these  grounds  of  antecedent  probability  we  should 
suppose  it  would  be  changeable. 

We  then  adduce  examples  which  will  serve  to  strengthen 
the  previous  a  priori  arguments,  and  are  also  of  themselves 
independent  proofs. 

We  finally  adduce  the  testimony  of  men  competent  to 
speak,  and  urge  the  authority  of  their  names. 

When  the  exercise  is  prepared,  the  pupil  should  be  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  kinds  of  proofs  employed,  as  well  as  the 
principles  of  arrangement,  in  order  that  there  may  be  ac- 
quired a  familiarity  with  the  different  kinds  of  proofs,  and 
the  proper  mode  of  using  them. 

§  137.  Adduce  arguments  to  prove  the  following  proposi- 
tions. 

1.  Moses  was  specially  trained  to  be  the  founder  of  the 
Jewish  nation. 

2.  The  Jews  were  cruelly  oppressed  in  Egypt. 

3.  The   escape  of  the   Jews   out  of  Egypt  into  Canaan 
was  miraculous. 

4.  Idolatry  was   the  cause  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews 
in  Babylon. 

5.  The  Chinese  monarchy  is  the  oldest  on  the  earth. 

6.  A  universal  deluge  has  swept  over  the  world. 

7.  Alexander  of  Macedon  was  an  ambitious  but  sagaci- 
ous ruler,  not  a  wild  fanatic  or  mere  child  of  fortune. 

8.  Rome  owes  her  downfall  to  the  evils  of  conquest. 

9.  Mahomet  was  an  impostor,  not  a  deluded  fanatic. 

10.  The  abdication  of  Charles  V,  was  dictated  by  selfish 
ness  rather  than  by  magnanimity. 

11.  The  divorce   of  Josephine  by  Bonaparte,  was   politi- 
cally unjustifiable. 

12.  Charles  I  was  justly  executed. 

13.  Oliver  Cromwell  was  a  usurper. 


144  CONFIRMATION. 

14.  Free  institutions  promise  to  prevail  in  Europe. 

15.  The  first  settlers  in  New  England  treated  the  Indians 
with  strict  regard  to  justice. 

16.  Infidelity  is  decreasing. 

17.  Populous  cities  are  unfavorable  to  morality. 

18.  ^It  is  always  safe  to  act  right. 

19.  A  man  is  accountable  for  his  opinions. 

20.  Science  is  favorable  to  Christianity. 

21.  No  one  is  without  influence. 

22.  Games  of  chance  are  hurtful  to  character. 

23.  Employment  is  true  enjoyment. 

24.  Commerce  is  favorable  to  national  character. 


PART  II. 

STYLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL      DIVISIONS. 

§  138.  STYLE,  in  Rhetoric,  treats  of  the  expression 
of  thought  in  language. 

§  139.  The  most  general  division  of  the  properties  of 
Style  is  into  the  three  classes  of, 

1.  ABSOLUTE; 

2.  SUBJECTIVE; 

3.  OBJECTIVE. 

§  140.  The  ABSOLUTE  PROPERTIES  are  those  which 
are  founded  in  the  nature  of  language. 
They  include, 

1.  The  ORAL  ; 

2.  The  SUGGESTIVE; 

3.  The  GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES. 

This  analysis  of  the  properties  of  style,  is  founded  on  the 
three  elements  of  language,  viz, :  the  material,  or  body  of 
language  ;  the  thought,  or  contents ;  and  the  relation  of  the 
material  to  the  thought. 

13  (145) 


146  ORAL   PROPERTIES, 


CHAPTER  II. 

ORAL     PROPERTIES. 

§  141.  The  ORAL  PROPERTIES  are  those  which  are 
founded  in  the  nature  of  language  as  consisting  of  ar- 

o       o  o 

ticulate  sounds. 

They  include  EUPHONY  and  HARMONY. 

The  oral  properties  of  style  are  to  be  acquired  only 
through  the  ear.  Hence  they  are  to  be  studied, 

1.  By  listening  to  good  speakers ; 

2.  By  reciting  or  reading  aloud  from  writers  who  are 
eminent  in  these  properties. 

Generally  poets  and  orators  are  to  be  preferred  for  this 
purpose.  The  writings  of  Milton,  Addison,  and  Irving,  may 
be  read  aloud  with  advantage.  Until  the  taste  is  formed,  the 
recitation  and  reading  aloud  of  productions  that  are  deficient 
in  these  properties  should  be  carefully  avoided. 

§  142.  EUPHONY  respects  simply  the  sounds  of  words 
as  sounds,  and  requires  the  use  of  such  as  are  in  them- 
selves pleasant  to  the  ear  and  easy  to  be  uttered. 

Hence  Euphony  requires, 

1.  The  avoidance    of  words   with  many  unaccented 
syllables,  as  "meteorological,"  " desultoriness." 

2.  The  avoidance  of  harsh  combinations  of  letters,  as 
"  schismless,"  "  formd'st." 

§  143.  HARMONY  respects  the  sounds  of  words  as  ex* 
pressions  of  thought. 

I 


ORAL    PROPERTIES.  147 

It  embraces, 

1.  HARMONY  PROPER; 

2.  RHYTHM;  and 

3.  MELODY. 

§  144.  HARMONY  PROPER  respects  the  quality  of 
sounds,  and  requires  that  the  succession  of  words  in  a 
sentence  fall  smoothly  and  pleasantly  on  the  ear. 

The  following  extracts  are  in  wide  contrast  with  each  other 
in  respect  of  harmony ;  the  first,  from  Milton,  being  remark- 
ably smooth  and  harmonious ;  the  second,  from  Barrow, 
harsh  and  disagreeable  in  its  effect  on  the  ear. 

We  have  not  yet  found  them  all,  nor  ever  shall  do,  till 
her  master's  second  coming.  He  shall  bring  together  every 
joint  and  member,  and  shall  mold  them  into  an  immortal 
feature  of  loveliness  and  perfection. 

When  sarcastical  twitches  are  needful  to  pierce  the  thick 
skins  of  men,  to  conceal  their  lethargic  stupidity,  to  rouse 
them  out  of  their  drowsy  negligence,  then  may  they  well  be 
applied. 

§  145.  RHYTHM  is  founded  on  accent,  and  requires 
that  the  succession  of  accented  and  unaccented  syllables 
be  such  as  to  fall  pleasantly  on  the  ear. 

A  good  rhythm  is  best  acquired  by  recitations  and  fre- 
quent audible  readings  from  our  best  poets.  The  style  of 
Milton  and  that  of  Addison  are  highly  rhythmical. 

The  most  common  faults  in  rhythm  are, 

1.  Excess,  or  importing  blank  verse  into  prose;  as  "You 
know  I  love  a  country  life,  and  here  we  have  it  in  perfec- 
tion ;"  and,  as  we  find  in  a  scientific  system  of  optics, 
"When  parallel  rays  come  contrary  ways  and  fall  upon  oppo- 
site sides." 


148  ORAL   PROPERTIES. 

2.  Defect ,  or  unbroken  succession  of  accented  or  of  unac- 
cented syllables,  as  "  Consider  that  religion  is  a  great  and  a 
long  work,  and  asks  so  much  time  that  there  is  none  left  for 
the  delaying  of  it." 

This  fault  is  most  conspicuous  at  the  close  of  a  sentence, 
as  in  the  example  given.  As  the  rhythm  of  a  sentence  ap- 
pears most  in  the  cadence,  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid 
cadences  with  several  accented  or  unaccented  syllables  in  suc- 
cession. Seldom  should  a  sentence  be  closed  with  more  than 
one  accented  or  more  than  two  unaccented  syllables. 

§  146.  MELODY  is  founded  on  pitch,  and  requires  that 
the  members  of  a  sentence  be  so  proportioned  to  each 
other  in  length,  and  also  so  arranged  in  respect  to  the 
importance  and  relations  of  the  thoughts,  that  the  pro- 
nunciation shall  be  pleasing  to  the  ear. 

The  style  of  Dugald  Stewart  is  a  good  model  for  the  study 
of  this  property  of  style.  The  following  passages  are  in- 
stances of  a  melodious  construction. 

The  most  trifling  accident  of  scenery,  it  is  evident,  at  least 
the  most  trifling  to  an  unskilled  eye,  may  thus  possess,  in 
his  estimation,  a  value  superior  to  that  which  he  ascribes  to 
beauties  of  a  far  higher  order. — STEWART. 

The  accusing  spirit,  which  flew  up  to  Heaven's  chancery 
with  the  oath,  blushed  as  he  gave  it  in ;  and  the  recording 
angel,  as  he  wrote  it  down,  dropped  a  tear  upon  the  word 
and  blotted  it  out  forever. — STERNE. 

§  147.  Faults  in  melody  are, 

1.  Loose  sentences,  or  sentences  closing  with  de- 
pendent clauses ; 

2.  Excessively  parenthetical  sentences. 


.  >^C^TT 


ORAL   PROPERTIES.  >CTT  149 


The  following  is  an  instance  of  an  exceedingly  loose  struc- 
ture, from  Swift.  The  main  thought  is  closed  with  the  word 
"  audience,"  in  the  first  third  of  the  sentence ;  but  clause 
after  clause,  with  either  one  of  which  the  sentence  might  be 
closed,  is  added,  till  the  ear  tires  with  the  dragging  append- 


And  here  it  was  often  found  of  absolute  necessity  to  influ- 
ence or  cool  the  passions  of  the  audience,  especially  at  Rome, 
where  Tully  spoke ;  and  with  whose  writings  young  divines, 
I  mean  those  among  them  who  read  old  authors,  are  more 
conversant  than  with  those  of  Demosthenes;  who,  by  many 
degrees,  excelled  the  other,  at  least  as  an  author. 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  ORAL  PROPERTIES  OF  STYLE. 

Point  out  and  name  the  faults  in  respect  of  the  oral  prop- 
erties of  style,  in  the  following  extracts. 

It  is  a  mystery,  which  we  firmly  believe  the  truth  of,  and 
humbly  adore  the  depth  of. 

I  have  settled  the  meaning  of  those  pleasures  of  imagina- 
tion, which  are  the  subject  of  my  present  undertaking,  by 
way  of  introduction,  in  this  paper. 

Boast  not  thyself  of  to-morrow;  thou  knowest  not  what 
a  day  may  bring  forth ;  and,  for  the  same  reason,  despair  not 
of  to-morrow,  for  it  may  bring  forth  good  as  well  as  evil ; 
which  is  a  ground  for  not  vexing  thyself  with  imaginary  fears; 
for  the  impending  black  cloud,  which  is  regarded  with  so 
much  dread,  may  pass  by  harmless :  or,  though  it  should 
discharge  the  storm,  yet,  before  it  breaks,  thou  mayest  be 
lodged  in  that  lowly  mansion  which  no  storms  ever  touch. 

The  Commons  made  an  angry  remonstrance  against  such 
an  arbitrary  requisition. 


150  ORAL   PROPERTIES. 

By  adverse  gusts 'of  jarring  instincts  tost, 
I  rove  to  one,  now  to  trie  other  coast. 

Thou  clear'dst  the  secret  of  my  high  descent, 
And  told  me  what  those  mystic  tokens  meant. 

My  mother  catched  me  in  her  arms,  and,  transported  be 
yond  all  patience  of  the  silent  grief  she  was  before  in,  she 
almost  smothered  me  in  her  embraces. 

How  easily  are  men  checked  and  diverted  from  a  good 
cause,  by  the  temptations  and  advantages  of  this  world! 
How  many  are  cold  in  their  zeal  for  religion,  by  the  favor 
and  friendship  of  the  world !  And  as  their  goods  and  estates 
have  grown  greater,  their  devotion  hath  grown  less. 

For  the  peace  and  good  of  the  Church  is  not  terminated 
in  the  schismless  estate  of  one  or  two  kingdoms. 

Thou  form'dst  me  poor  at  first  and  keep'st  me  so. 

To  use  the  Divine  name  customarily,  and  without  serious 
consideration,  is  highly  irreverent. 

When  a  man  hath  once  forfeited  the  reputation  of  his  in- 
tegrity, nothing  will  then  serve  his  turn. 

Young  years  are  tender,  and  easily  wrought  upon,  apt  to 
be  molded  into  any  fashion  ;  they  are  like  moist  and  soft  clay, 
which  is  pliable  to  any  form ;  but  soon  grows  hard,  and  then 
nothing  is  to  be  made  of  it. 

Disappointments  will  often  happen  to  the  best  and  wisest 
men,  not  through  any  imprudence  of  theirs,  nor  even  through 
the  malice  or  ill  design  of  others,  but  merely  in  consequence 
of  some  of  those  cross  incidents  of  life  which  could  not  be 
foreseen,  and  sometimes  to  the  wisest  and  best  concerted  plans. 


ORAL    PROPERTIES.  151 

Tranquillity,  regularity,  and  magnanimity  reside  with  the 
religious  and  resigned  man. 

They  conducted  themselves  wilily,  and  insnared  us  before 
we  had  time  to  escape. 

Whereas  this  account  would  make  it  not  of  so  large  extent, 
as  it  were  very  unreasonable  any  should ;  for  though  it  may 
well  be  supposed  extendible  to  many  actions  besides  those 
that  are  intrinsically  evil,  or  to  any  that  are  not  spiritually 
good,  yet  nothing  enforces,  nor  can  it  be  admitted,  that  it 
should  actually  and  always  extend  so  far. 

The  credibility,  that  the  Christian  dispensation  may  have 
been,  all  along,  carried  on  by  general  laws,  no  less  than  the 
course  of  nature,  may  require  to  be  more  distinctly  made  out. 
Consider,  then,  upon  what  ground  it  is  we  say,  that  the  whole 
common  course  of  nature  is  carried  on  according  to  general 
foreordained  laws. 

At  St.  Bride's  Church,  in  Fleet  Street,  Mr.  Woolston,  who 
writ  against  the  miracles  of  our  Savior,  in  the  utmost  terrors 
of  conscience,  publicly  recanted. 

And  now  the  bell,  the  bell  she  had  so  often  heard  by  night 
and  day,  and  listened  to  with  solemn  pleasure  almost  as  a  liv- 
ing voice,  rung  its  remorseless  toll  for  her  so  young,  so  beau- 
tiful, so  good.  Decrepit  age  and  vigorous  life,  and  blooming 
youth  and  helpless  infancy  poured  forth,  on  crutches,  in  the 
pride  of  strength  and  health,  in  the  full  blast  of  promise,  in 
the  mere  dawn  of  life,  to  gather  round  her  tomb.  Old  men 
were  there,  whose  eyes  were  dim  and  senses  failing  ;  grand- 
mothers, who  might  have  died  ten  years  ago  and  still  been 
old  ;  the  deaf,  the  blind,  the  lame,  the  palsied,  the  living  dead, 
in  many  shapes  and  forms,  to  see  the  closing  of  that  early 


152  ORAL   PROPERTIES. 

grave.     What  was  the  death  it  would  shut  in,  to  that  which 
still  could  crawl  and  creep  ahove  it. 

His  oration  at  the  commencement  of  the  session  made  a 
favorable  impression. 

We  can  not  excusably  decline  the  consideration  of  that  du- 
ration, which  maketh  pyramids  pillars  of  snow,  and  all  that 
is  passed  a  moment. 

I  could  not  but  admire  the  greatness  of  the  work,  and  also 
the  perfectness  of  it. 

It  was  the  immature  and  immoderate  love  of  them  which 
stamped  first,  or  rather  engraved,  the  characters  in  me. 

Give  it  to  the  fairest,  was  it,  which  jarred  the  goddesses. 

And  these  are,  beyond  comparison,  the  two  greatest  evils 
in  this  world :  a  diseased  body,  and  a  discontented  mind ; 
and  in  this  I  am  sure  I  speak  to  the  inward  feeling  and  ex- 
perience of  men;  and  say  nothing  but  what  every  vicious 
man  finds,  and  hath  a  more  lively  sense  of,  than  is  to  be 
expressed  in  words. 


SUGGESTIVE  PROPERTIES.  15b 


CHAPTER  III. 

SUGGESTIVE      PROPERTIES. 

§  148.  The  SUGGESTIVE  PROPERTIES  of  style  include, 

1.  The  IMITATIVE;  and 

2.  The  SYMBOLICAL  PROPERTIES. 

§  149.  The  IMITATIVE  PROPERTIES  are  founded  on  the 
resemblance  between  the  thoughts  and  the  sounds  of  the 
words  by  which  the  thoughts  are  expressed;  as  "the 
cawing  CYW"  "  the  gabbling  goose ;"  "  the  cooing  dove ;" 
"  the  whistling  wind." 

Deep  echoing  groan  the  thickets  brown, 
Then  rustling,  cracking,  crashing,  thunder  down. 

Frogs  from  the  pond  and  Mill-Brook  crooked,  chubbed, 
and  crooked. 

Oft  on  a  plat  of  rising  ground, 
I  hear  the  far-off  curfew  sound, 
Over  some  wide  watered  shore, 
Swinging  slow  with  sullen  roar. 

§  150.  The  SYMBOLICAL  PROPERTIES  of  style  are 
founded  on  the  resemblance  between  the  thought  and 
the  image  represented  by  the  word  or  words  which  ex- 
press the  thought. 

Holy  actions  begin  with  a  slow  motion,  and  the  building 
stays,  and  the  spirit  is  weary,  and  the  soul  is  naked  to  tempt* 


154  SUGGESTIVE  PROPERTIES. 

ation,  and  in  the  days. of  storm  takes  in  everything  that  can 
do  it  mischief;  and  it  is  faint  and  sick,  listless  and  tired,  and 
it  stands  till  its  own  weight  wearies  the  foundation  and  then 
declines  to  death  and  sad  disorder. — JEREMY  TAYLOR. 

For  the  acquisition  of  this  property,  the  study  of  the  writ- 
ings of  Jean  Paul  Richter  will  be  found  of  great  benefit. 
No  writer  has  more  studied  the  forms  of  thought  in  the  world 
without,  or  has  more  accurately  and  beautifully  selected  and 
appropriated  them  in  expression.  The  following  extract  is 
from  his  "  Flower,  Fruit,  and  Thorn  Pieces,"  translated  by 
Noel. 

Happy  Firmian,  notwithstanding  your  afflictions !  When 
you  now  step  through  the  glass  door  upon  the  iron  floor,  the 
sun  sets  over  again,  and  the  earth  closes  her  large  eye,  like 
that  of  a  dying  goddess.  Then  the  mountains  smoke  about 
you  like  altars  ;  the  choruses  burst  from  the  woods  ;  shadows, 
the  vails  of  day,  flutter  around  the  kindled  transparent  tree- 
tops,  and  lie  upon  the  variegated  brooches  of  flowers;  and 
the  gold-tinsel  of  the  evening-red  casts  a  dead  golden  hue 
upon  the  east,  and  falls  with  rosy  colors  on  the  floating  bosom 
of  the  trembling  lark,  the  high-hung  evening-bell  of  nature. 
*  ^  5jc  Firmian  opened  the  piano-forte  and  repeated  his 
evening  in  tones,  the  trembling  chords  becoming  the  fiery 
tongues  of  his  oppressed  bosom.  The  flower-ashes  of  his 
youth  were  blown  away,  and  beneath  them  a  few  young  min- 
utes bloomed  again. 

NOTE. — The  young  student  of  style  will  guard  against  the  Ger- 
manisms in  this  extract,  appearing  particularly  in  the  use  of  com- 
pound words. 


GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES.  155 

CHAPTER  IV. 

GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES. 

§  151.  THE  GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES  of  style  respect 
either, 

1.  The  forms  of  words; 

2.  Their  connection;  or, 

3.  Their  meaning. 

The  corresponding  classes  of  faults  to  be  avoided  in 
style,  are, 

1.  BARBARISMS,  or  the  use  of  words  not  sanctioned 
by  the  Etymology  of  the  language; 

2.  SOLECISMS,  or  violations  of  Syntax  or  the  laws  of 
construction  and  arrangement ; 

3.  IMPROPRIETIES,  or  uses  of  words  in  wrong  mean- 
.  . 

ings.     These  are  offenses  against  the  Lexicography  of 

the  language. 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  STYLE. 

Point  out  and  name  the  several  Barbarisms,  Solecisms,  and 
[mproprieties  in  the  following  sentences : 

The  play  at  arms  eventuated  in  an  angry  fight. 

His  style  was  cumbrous,  repetitious,  and  wholly  unattract- 
ive. 

The  best  preventative  of  disease  is  to  be  found  in  a  ju 
dicious  regimen  of  diet,  sleep,  and  exercise. 

Notwithstanding  the  urgency  of  his  entreaties,  they  for  a 
long  time  reluctated  against  his  policy. 


156  GRAMMATICAL   PROPERTIES. 

To  jeopardize  such,  interests  for  such  trifles  is  monstrous 
folly. 

The  morning  rays  peeked  over  the  hills. 

At  sundown,  the  clouds  that  had  obscured  the  heavens 
during  the  day,  gradually  scattered. 

The  memorizing  of  passages  of  poetry  is  a  useful  exercise. 

Pending  the  trial,  the  litigants  renewed  the  contest. 

His  name  was  stricken  from  the  roll. 

With  his  usual  self-devotion,  he  pled  the  case  against  hid 
formidable  adversaries  with  a  boldness  that  bordered  on  au- 
dacity. 

The  facts  were  proven  beyond  all  question. 

With  all  my  affection  for  him,  I  had  rather  have  gone  any- 
where else  than  to  meet  him  at  such  an  interview. 

He  may  have  begun  many  studies,  but  he  mastered  few. 

Firstly,  the  position  is  not  sustained  by  the  facts  in  the 
case. 

Then  the  released  spirit  shall  be  perfectly  happified. 

This  prudent  counsel  was  illy  followed. 

The  whole  herd  pressed  down  the  sidehill. 

The  court  has  not  wore  off  the  manners  of  the  republic. 

I  had  no  sooner  drank  but  I  found  a  pimple  rising  in  my 
forehead. 

Which  some  philosophers  have  mistook  to  be  different  in 
their  causes. 

The  hauteur  of  Florio  was  very  disgracious. 

The  more  preferable  course  would  be  to  decline  the  pro- 
posal at  once  without  discussion. 

Each  of  the  persons  present  observed  their  turn  in  the  per- 
formance. 

The  rule  reads,  "  If  any  one  transgresses,  let  them  be  first 
admonished." 

I  supposed  it  to  be  he. 

He  dare  not  proceed. 


GRAMMATICAL   PROPERTIES.  157 

The  amount  of  the  expenditures  and  disbursements  far 
exceed  our  calculations. 

James  was  equally  forward  and  equally  responsible  as 
Joseph. 

Neither  envy  or  despise  the  rich. 

Men  will  not  believe  but  what  it  was  done  with  criminal 
intentions. 

In  pursuance  of  his  original  plan  he  went  to  London  on 
the  following  Monday. 

The  nation  is  now  free  of  tyrants. 

Firstly,  the  facts  were  misapprehended ; 

Second,  the  conclusion  was  not  sustained  by  the  premises ; 
and, 

Third,  the  whole  discussion  was  extravagant  and  excess- 
ive. 

Much  does  human  pride  and  self-complacency  require  cor- 
rection. 

Good  order  in  our  affairs,  not  mean  savings,  produce  great 
profits. 

Whether  one  person  or  more  was  concerned  in  the  busi- 
ness does  not  yet  appear. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  live  hereafter  suitable  to  a  man  in  my 
station. 

The  fleet  is  all  safely  arrived. 

These  kind  of  indulgences  soften  and  injure  the  mind. 

You  have  been  gone  this  two  hours. 

Industry  is  the  mean  of  obtaining  competency. 

Each  of  them,  in  their  turn,  receive  the  benefits  to  which 
they  are  entitled. 

Every  man,  every  woman,  every  child,  were  numbered. 

Neither  of  those  men  seem  to  have  any  idea  that  their 
opinions  may  be  ill-founded. 

These  curiosities  we  have  imported  from  China,  and  are 
similar  to  those  brought  from  Japan. 


158  GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES. 

Eemoving  the  term  from  Westminster,  sitting  the  Parlia- 
ment, was  illegal. 

When  the  nation  complain,  the  rulers  should  listen  to  theil 
voice. 

The  council  was  not  unanimous. 

From  these  favorable  beginnings  we  may  hope  for  a  soon 
and  prosperous  issue. 

So  bold  a  breach  of  order,  called  for  little  severity  in  the 
punishment  of  the  offender. 

The  fear  of  shame  and  desire  of  approbation,  prevent  many 
bad  actions. 

In  this  business  he  was  influenced  by  a  just  and  generous 
principle. 

The  alone  principle  in  the  case  is  incontrovertible. 

He  was  a  very  likely  boy. 

Men  are  but  pilgrims  in  this  wilderness  world. 

He  did  not  injure  him  any. 

He  is  considerable  better. 

Such  language  was  derogatory  to  his  character. 

The  doctrines  were,  as  to  their  proper  influence  and  effect, 
highly  obnoxious. 

T  bought  the  knives  at  Brown's  the  cutler's. 

The  picture  of  the  king's  does  not  much  resemble  him. 

The  observation  of  this  rule  will  be  found  to  be  of  great 
advantage. 

The  reply  threw  him  off  his  guard,  and  he  was  in  a  tem- 
per for  a  long  time. 

The  balance  of  the  crew  effected  their  escape. 

I  can  never  think  so  mean  of  him. 

Neither  death  nor  torture  were  sufficient  to  subdue  the 
minds  of  Cargill  and  his  intrepid  followers. 

'T  is  observable  that  every  one  of  the  letters  bear  date  aftei 
his  banishment. 

Whether  he  will  or  no.     I  care  not. 


GRAMMATICAL   PROPERTIES.  159 

So  much  of  ability  and  merit  are  seldom  found. 

The  conditions  were  as  moderate  as  was  consistent  with 
the  instructions. 

We  need  not,  nor  do  not,  confine  the  purposes  of  God. 

The  committee  were  very  full  at  this  meeting. 

He  behaved  himself  conformable  to  that  blessed  example. 

And  never  entertain  any  suspicion  that  the  one  are  noth- 
ing but  representatives  of  the  other. 

No  one  should  incur  censure  for  being  tender  of  their  rep. 
utation. 

Howsoever  beautiful  they  appear,  they  have  no  real  merit. 

He'  would  not  be  persuaded  but  what  I  was  greatly  in  fault 

Thou  art  a  friend  that  hast  often  relieved  me. 

Neither  of  them  are  remarkable  for  precision. 

I  am  equally  an  enemy  to  a  female  dunce  or  a  female  ped- 
ant. 

I  shall  premise  with  two  or  three  general  observations. 

If  it  was  not  him,  who  do  you  imagine  it  to  have  been  ? 

Demonstration  behooves  us  to  repose  at  last  on  propositions. 

The  legitimate  application  of  this  reasoning  is  exclusively 
competent. 

He  does  not  seem  almost  to  have  conceived  the  possibility. 

He  considers  that  professing  is  being. 

Fierce  as  he  moved,  his  silver  shafts  resound. 

John  will  earn  his  wages  when  his  service  is  completed. 

From  the  little  conversation  I  had  with  him,  he  appeared 
to  have  been  a  man  of  letters. 

We  have  done  no  more  than  it  was  our  duty  to  have  done. 

His  disease  was  so  severe,  that  I  often  feared  he  would 
have  died  before  our  arrival. 

Magnus,  with  four  thousand  of  his  supposed  accomplices, 
were  put  to  death. 

These  feasts  were  celebrated  to  the  honor  of  Osiris,  whom 
the  Greeks  called  Dionysius,  and  is  the  same  with  Bacchus. 


160  GRAMMATICAL   PROPERTIES. 

Every  person,  whatever  be  their  station,  is  bound  by  the 
duties  of  morality  and  religion. 

We  do  those  things  frequently  that  we  repent  of  afterward. 

Many  persons  will  not  believe  but  what  they  are  free  from 
prejudices. 

He  had  better  have  let  it  alone,  for  he  lost  his  cause  by 
his  jest. 

King  Charles,  and  more  than  him,  the  Duke  and  the  Pop- 
ish faction,  were  at  liberty  to  form  new  schemes. 

Neither  of  them  are  remarkable  for  precision. 

In  proportion  as  either  of  these  two  qualities  are  wanting, 
the  language  is  imperfect. 

It  has  been  shook  by  the  iniquity  of  former  administrations. 

The  cottage  was  at  a  wide  remove  from  the  tree. 

A  large  part  of  the  meadows  and  cornfields  was  overflown. 

He  was  charged  by  Asinius  Pollio  as  neither  faithful  or 
exact. 

He  was  persuaded  to  strenuously  prosecute  the  great  en- 
terprises of  the  company. 

These  evils  are  rife  in  community. 

The  works  of  Deity  are  admirable  in  whatever  aspect  re- 
garded. 

They  entertained  high  opinions  of  themselves. 

He  has  not  yet  wore  off  the  rough  manners  which  he 
brought  with  him. 

You  who  have  forsook  your  friends  are  entitled  to  no  con- 
fidence. 

He  had  mistook  his  true  interest. 

They  have  chose  the  part  of  honor. 

He  would  have  went  with  us,  had  he  been  invited. 

I  had  saw  him  repeatedly  before. 

His  vices  have  weakened  his  mind  and  broke  his  health. 

•He  had  wrote  many  letters. 

The  cloth  was  wove  without  seam. 


GRAMMATICAL   PROPERTIES.  161 

We  need  not,  nor  do  not,  confine  his  operations  to  narrow 
limits. 

Do  you  know  who  you  are  speaking  to  ? 

He  is  a  friend  whom  I  am  much  obliged  to. 

They  were  refused  entrance  into,  and  forcibly  driven  frou, 
the  house. 

I  admire  to  hear  that  orator. 

I  admire  that  he  should  do  it. 

I  expect  he  was  the  offender. 

He  learned  me  the  language. 

She  finds  a  difficulty  of  fixing  her  mind. 

There  was  no  water  and  he  died  for  thirst. 

I  have  no  occasion  of  his  services. 

It  is  a  principle  in  unison  to  our  nature. 

He  was  born  in  London  but  raised  in  Paris. 

They  calculated  to  go  in  the  next  steamer. 

The  ships  now  lay  in  the  port. 

The  council  was  setting. 

I  rec-kon  he  was  greatly  disappointed. 

They  went  into  the  forest  to  fall  some  trees. 

It  is  not  conformable  with  custom. 

The  house  is  situated  to  the  north-east  side  of  the  road. 

He  was  accused  with  having  acted  unfairly. 

She  has  an  abhorrence  to  all  deception. 

Their  practice  was  agreeable  with  their  profession. 

Civility  makes  its  way  among  every  kind  of  persons. 

He  conducts  well  this  season. 

His  decision  was  predicated  on  other  grounds. 

The  work  progresses  rapidly. 

Such  doctrines  revolt  us. 

The  proceedings  of  the  cabinet  have  not  transpired. 

Property  appreciates  rapidly  in  the  city. 

Professing  regard  and  to  act  differently  discover  a  base 
mind. 

14 


162  GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES. 

He  acted  just  like  his  brother  did. 

Directly  the  servant  announced  their  arrival,  I  rose  and  left 
3ie  room. 

He  was  quite  sick. 

He  felt  as  though  the  earth  would  open  beneath  him. 

They  are  all  usually  well,  I  thank  you. 

The  sisters  did  equally  as  well. 

As  old  or  older  than  tradition. 

Till  repentance  composes  his  mind,  he  will  be  a  stranger 
to  peace. 

Though  success  be  very  doubtful,  it  is  necessary  that  he 
endeavors  to  succeed. 

The  matter  was  no  sooner  proposed,  but  he  privately  with- 
drew to  consider  it. 

He  has  little  more  of  the  scholar  besides  the  name. 

They  had  no  sooner  risen,  but  they  applied  themselves  to 
their  studies. 

Germany  ran  the  same  risk  as  Italy  had  done. 

They  were  much  averse  from  the  proposal. 

In  comparison  to  Greece,  Eome  showed  little  artistic  culture. 

In  accordance  to  his  purpose,  he  left  the  city  the  follow- 
ing week. 

The  captain  had  several  men  died  of  the  scurvy. 

The  sacrifices  of  virtue  will  not  only  be  rewarded  hereafter, 
but  recompensed  even  in  this  life. 

I  confided  on  him  to  discharge  that  trust. 

That  procedure  was  worthy  all  praise. 

John  differed  with  James  in  the  estimation  of  the  prop- 
erty. 

Yery  different  to  this,  was  his  former  behavior. 

The  first  project  was  to  shorten  discourse  by  cutting  poly- 
syllables into  one. 

The  greatest  masters  of  critical  learning  differ  among  one 
another. 


GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES.  163 

The  reward  is  his  due,  and  it  has  already,  or  will  hereafter 
be  given  to  him. 

Bjr  intercourse  with  wise  and  experienced  persons  who 
know  the  world,  we  may  improve  and  rub  off  the  rust  of  a 
private  and  retired  education. 

Sincerity  is  as  valuable,  and  even  more  so,  than  knowledge. 

They  celebrate  the  Church  of  England  as  the  most  perfect 
of  all  others. 

I  had  like  to  have  gotten  one  or  two  broken  heads. 

I  do  likewise  dissent  with  the  examiner. 

On  these  causes  depend  all  the  happiness  or  misery  which 
exist  among  men. 

Time  and  chance  happeneth  to  all  men. 

To  which,  as  Bishop  Burnet  tells  us,  the  Prince  of  Orange 
was  willing  to  comply. 

The  discovery  he  made  and  communicated  with  his  friends. 

She  was  really  in  that  sad  condition  that  her  friend  rep- 
resented her. 

There  are  principles  in  man,  which  ever  have  and  ever 
will  incline  him  to  offend. 

The  wisest  princes  need  not  think  it  any  diminution  to 
their  greatness,  or  derogation  to  their  sufficiency  to  rely  upon 
counsel. 

The  esteem  which  Philip  had  conceived  of  the  embassador, 

Dr.  Johnson,  with  whom  I  am  sorry  to  differ  in  opinion, 
has  treated  it  as  a  work  of  merit. 

You  stand  to  him  in  the  relation  of  a  son ;  of  consequence 
you  should  obey  him. 

It  is  no  more  but  his  due. 

The  broken  wheel  lays  by  the  side  of  the  road. 

He  will  become  enamored  for  virtue  and  patriotism,  and 
acquire  a  detestation  of  vice,  cruelty,  and  corruption. 

Having  been  for  a  fortnight  together,  they  are  then  mighty 
good  company  to  be  sure. 


164  GRAMMATICAL  PROPERTIES. 

This  effect,  we  may  safely  say,  no  one  beforehand  could 
have  promised  upon. 

Every  Church  and  ,sect  of  people  have  a  set  of  opinions 
peculiar  to  themselves. 

When  a  string  of  such  sentences  succeed  one  another,  the 
effect  is  disagreeable. 

The  book  is  printed  very  neat,  and  on  a  fine  wove  paper. 

He  resembles  one  of  those  solitary  animals  that  has  been 
forced  from  its  forest  to  gratify  human  curiosity. 

There  is  not,  nor  ought  not  to  be  such  a  thing  as  con- 
structive treason. 

I  have  not.  nor  shall  not  consent  to  a  proposal  so  un- 
just. 

He  deserved  punishment  as  much  or  more  than  his  com- 
panion. 

He  has  little  more  of  the  great  man  besides  the  title. 

He  acted  conformable  with  his  instructions,  and  can  not  be 
censured  justly. 

He  acted  independent  of  foreign  assistance. 

I  intended  to  have  finished  the  letter  by  the  time  of  his 
arrival,  but  was  prevented. 

The  concourse  of  people  were  so  great  that  with  difficulty 
we  passed  through  them. 

If  I  had  known  the  distress  of  my  friend,  it  would  be  my 
duty  to  have  relieved  him. 

He  is  no  way  thy  inferior. 

He  was  seized  with  wonderment  at  all  he  saw. 

These  convictions  can  not  be  redargued  from  any  higher 
knowledge. 

Philosophers  have  scarcely  scrupled  to  appeal  to  them  as 
irrecusable  truths. 

He  is  bound  to  approbate  and  reprobate  the  testimony  of 
our  original  beliefs. 

Were  other  proof  awanting. 


GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES.  165 

Neither  animate  nor  inanimate  nature  lias  any  rights,  and 
can  be  controlled  by  no  ethical  rules. 

He  is  here  amid  the  glory  that  fills  immensity  and  inhab- 
iteth  eternity. 

The  constraint  of  pure  virtue  is  utterly  beyond  its  power 
to  apply. 

It  must,  perforce,  satisfy  itself  with  the  regularity  of  the 
outward  life. 

It  is  incompetent  to  itself  to  do  this  in  any  other  way. 

Man  has  been  made  social,  rational,  and  free,  and  thus 
necessary  to  be  governed. 

It  is  a  crime  to  clandestinely  evade  any  state  impost. 

There  is  no  human  tribunal  that  can  set  in  judgment 
upon  it. 

There  thus  comes  up  the  perplexing  questions  of  casuistry. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  strongly  encourage  all  scien- 
tific and  artistic  thinking. 

If  it  can  be  executed  with  no  interference  to  the  public 
choice,  the  state  has  no  business  to  interfere  with  it. 

No  sensible  appearance  can  be  scarcely  ever  given  to  the 
mind  as  a  mere  dry  intellectual  object. 

Such  feelings  may  be  termed  sentiment,  and  which  belong 
to  our  rational  being  only. 

The  animal  can  possibly  possess  no  rights. 

He  is  bound  to  thus  learn  the  way. 

We  now  contemplate  man  as  the  creature  of  wants,  and 
thus  finding  an  end  in  happiness. 

Each  man  should  deport  himself  manly  in  all  his  inter- 
course with  other  men. 

I  may  show  other  and  different  tokens  of  respect  to  the 
morally  wise  and  virtuous,  to  the  respectful  and  courteous, 
than  to  the  base  and  the  insolent. 

Detraction  may  effect  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held 
by  others. 


166  GRAMMATICAL    PROPERTIES. 

Without  this  the  humanity  had  better  never  have  been 
raised  above  the  animal  being. 

Not  merely  that  civil  authority  is  useful  is  it  therefore  ven- 
erable. 

Such  are  titillation,  sneezing,  horripilation,  shuddering, 
the  feeling  of  what  is  called  setting  the  teeth  on  edge,  etc. 

This  last  will,  however,  be  more  appropriately  shown  in 
our  special  consideration  of  the  conditions  of  the  argument 
of  common  sense,  to  which  we  now  go  on. 

It  is  incompetent  to  demand  the  explanation  of  a  datum 
of  consciousness. 

The  sense  of  sight  is  cognizant  of  colors  and  outlines, 
and  by  aid  of  touch,  with  shapes,  and  by  other  helps,  with 
distance,  motion,  and  direction. 

Authority  given  to  three  of  our  different  neighbors. 

The  diversity  of  the  cases  are  very  apparent. 

An  history  of  the  corruptions  of  Christianity. 

Neither  of  them  show  a  profound  knowledge  of  their  sub- 
ject. 

There  can  not  be  a  doubt  but  that  the  public,  the  country 
exercised,  at  this  time,  more  influence  upon  the  government, 
than  at  any  other  time. 

We  have  been  solicitous  in  obtaining  a  complete  sys- 
tem. 

It  throws  the  burden  of  responsibility  from  the  legislator 
on  to  the  hard-heartedness  of  the  community. 

The  discourse  was  altogether  an  extempore  effort. 

The  conditions  were  accepted  of  by  the  king, 

I  could  not  but  suspect  the  veracity  of  his  story. 

I  expect  it  was  he  who  did  it. 

The  conscience  of  a  good  deed  is  its  best  reward. 

This  last  piece  of  civility  had  like  to  have  cost  me  dear. 

The  political  state  of  England  then,  was  very  different 
to  that  of  the  continent. 


SUBJECTIVE   PROPERTIES.  167 

While  these  facts  were  being  accomplished,  there  happened 
a  third. 

The  enemies  of  the  Eeformation  have  imputed  it  to  the 
sale  of  indulgences  having  been  intrusted  to  the  Dominicans 
and  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Augustines. 

Being  now  arrived  at  a  period  where  this  task  is  much 
more  difficult,  I  think  it  necessary  to  make  you  aware  of  the 
danger. 

He  added,  "that  the  impressions  then  let  in  upon  his  soul, 
would  certainly  distract  him,  if  he  were  not  so  at  that 
present." 

The  ferryman  who  rowed  me,  told  me  that  he  would  not 
for  all  the  world  pass  a  night  at  the  Abbey,  though  there 
was  a  power  of  money  hid  there. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

SUBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

§  152.  THE  SUBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES  of  Style  are : 

1.  SIGNIFICANCE; 

2.  CONTENTIOUSNESS  ; 

3.  NATURALNESS. 

§  153.  SIGNIFICANCE  is  opposed,  1.  To  what  is  called 
"  Spurious  oratory,"  in  which  the  speaker  does  not  aim 
or  desire  to  communicate  any  thought,  but  only  to  oc- 
cupy time,  for  pretense,  or  to  amuse ;  and, 

2.  To  the  nonsensical,  which  proceeds  from  want  of 
thought. 


168  SUBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

This  last  fault,  which  is  often  met  with  even  in  writers  of 
high  standing,  is  generally  occasioned  by  a  desire  to  say 
something,  as  to  supply  an  article  for  the  press,  to  meet  the 
formal  demand  of  pulpit  duty,  or  of  a  class  exerciser,  when 
there  is  no  definite  object  or  end  proposed  in  communicating 
or  establishing  any  particular  thought.  It  is  the  grand 
fault  in  the  essays  or  compositions  required  in  school  exer- 
cises. It  is  to  be  avoided  only  by  following  the  direction 
strictly  :  "  Be  sure  you  have  something  in  your  mind  to 
write,  and  an  object  in  writing  it,  before  you  begin."  The 
fault  is  frequently  exemplified  in  translations,  where  the 
words  are  followed  in  their  separate  meanings,  but  without 
a  grasp  of  the  thought  which,  as  connected,  they  are  designed 
to  express ;  as,  "  It  is  only  proper  for  us  to  use  sport  and 
jest  as  we  do  sleep  and  other  repose,  after  the  satiety  of 
grave  and  serious  things"  instead  of  u  when  we  have  satis- 
fied the  demands  of  grave  and  serious  business." 

§  154.  CONTINUOUSNESS  represents  the  thought  as 
connected  and  flowing-;  and  is  opposed  to  a  broken, 
leaping  style,  or  to  short,  abrupt  sentences. 

Sententiousness,  the  opposite  excellence  in  style,  is  allow- 
able only  in  the  expression  of  vivid,  energetic  thought. 
See  §  171. 

The  following  is  an  instance  of  a  faulty  style  in  this  re- 
spect, taken  from  the  Euphues  of  John  Lyly,  from  which 
romance,  the  name  of  euphuism  has  been  fastened  upon  this 
species  of  style. 

A  burnt  child  dreadeth  the  fire.  He  that  stumbleth  twice 
at  one  stone  is  worthy  to  break  his  shins,  Thou  mayest 
happily  forswear  thyself,  but  thou  shalt  never  delude  me. 
I  know  thee  as  readily  by  thy  visard  as  by  thy  visage. 


SUBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  109 

§  155.  NATURALNESS-  in  style  requires  that  the  ex- 
pression be  not  affected  and  strained  after,  but  easy  and 
free,  and  adapted  to  the  character  of  the  speaker,  of 
the  subject,  and  the  occasion. 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  SUBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES  OF  STYLE. 

Point  out  and  name  the  faults  in  respect  to  the  Subject- 
ive Properties  of  Speech,  in  the  following  passages : 

If  the  savor  of  things  lies  cross  to  honesty,  if  the  fancy 
be  florid,  and  the  appetite  high  toward  the  subaltern  beau- 
ties and  lower  order  of  worldly  symmetries  and  proportions, 
the  conduct  will  infallibly  turn  this  latter  way. 

Ah  !  Euphues,  I  love  thee  well ;  but  thou  hatest  thyself,  and 
seekest  to  heap  more  honors  on  thy  head  by  a  little  wit, 
than  thou  shalt  ever  close  off  by  thy  great  wisdom.  All  fire 
is  not  quenched  by  water ;  thou  hast  not  love  in  a  sting ; 
affection  is  not  thy  slave ;  thou  canst  not  leave  when  thou 
listest. 

The  cadence  comprehends  that  poetical  style  which  ani- 
mates every  line,  that  propriety  which  gives  strength  and 
expression,  that  numerosity  which  renders  the  verse  smooth, 
flowing,  and  harmonious,  that  significancy  which  marks  the 
passions,  and  in  many  cases  makes  the  sound  an  echo  to  the 
sense. — GOLDSMITH. 

As  in  fruits  and  cattle,  the  seed  not  only  serves  to  preserve 
the  breed  as  much  as  the  properties  of  soil  and  climate 
change,  by  which  they  are  nourished.— -KAMES*  ELEMENTS, 
BY  MILLS. 

The   more   the   brutes   rushed  upon  their   own   men,   the 
greater  struggle  they  made  amongst  them  amongst  the  ene- 
15 


170  OBJECTIVE   PROPERTIES. 

mies,  by  as  much  as  their  consternation  was^greater  than  the 
power  of  their  riders  to  govern  them. — ID. 

The  respondent,  however,  is  the  cause,  by  not  admitting 
some  things,  yet  admitting  such  as  these,  wherefore  it  is  clear 
that  we  must  not  similarly  reprehend  queries  and  arguments. — 
OWEN'S  ORGANON  OF  ARISTOTLE. 

Some  indeed  solve  this  sophism  in  another  way ;  for  if  the 
respondent  grants  that  he  is  able  to  do  so,  they  say  it  does 
not  happen,  that  he  who  does  not  play  plays,  for  he  does 
not  grant  that  he  does  it  in  whatever  way  it  is  possible ; 
nor  is  it  the  same  thing  to  say  as  it  is  possible,  and  in  ivhat- 
ever  way  it  is  possible  to  do  it. — ID. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OBJECTIVE     PROPERTIES. 

§  156.  THE  OBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES  are: 

1.  CLEARNESS; 

2.  ENERGY; 

3.  ELEGANCE. 

§  157.  CLEARNESS  requires,  first,  that  preference  be 
given  to  grammatical  words ; 

To  Anglo-Saxon  words; 

To  unequivocal  words ; 

To  simple  and  specific  words  in  distinction  from  such 
as  more  generic. 

The  following  passages  from  one  of  Jeremy  Taylor's  ser 
mons,  are  in  violation  of  this  principle  of  clearness : 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  171 

Whereas  our  constitution  is  weak,  our  souls  apt  to  dimi- 
nution and  impedite  faculties,  God  hath  provided  for  every 
condition  rare  suppletories  of  comfort  and  usefulness. 

Who  was  it  that  discerned  our  persons  from  the  lot  of 
dying  chrysoms  ? 

§  158.  CLEARNESS  requires,  in  the  second  place,  that 
the  images  or  pictures  by  which  the  thought  is  pre- 
sented, be  familiar  and  intelligible. 

The  following  sentences  are  faulty  in  this  respect : 
No  man  goes  about  to  poison  a  poor  man's  pitcher,  nor 
lays  plots  to  forage  his  little  garden,  made  for  the  hospital 
of  two  bee-hives,  and  the  feasting  of  Pythagorean  herb-eaters. 
The   fathers   and   the  children,   the   benefactors    and  the 
beneficiary,  shall  knit  the  wreath,  and   bind  each  other  in 
the  eternal  inclosures  and  circlings  of  immortality. 

§  159.  CLEARNESS  requires,  in  the  third  place,  that  the 
thought  be  presented  completely,  and  be  held  up  suffi- 
ciently long  before  the  mind  to  be  thoroughly  understood. 

§  160.  CLEARNESS  requires,  in  the  fourth  place,  that, 
in  the  relation  of  the  parts  of  the  sentence,  1.  The 
relative  words  be  properly  placed; 

2.  That  the  different  members  of  the  sentence  be 
placed  in  due  order  and  connection ; 

3.  That   parenthetical   clauses   be    introduced   with 
care  and  judgment. 

The  classes  of  relative  words,  in  the  use  of  which  there 
is  a  special  liability  to  offenses  against  clearness,  are : 

1.  Prepositions; 

2.  Adverbs ; 

3.  Pronouns, 


172  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

Examples. — "  The  towns  of  Provence,  Languedoc,  and 
Aquetaine,"  instead  of  "  The  towns  of  Provence,  of  Lan- 
guedoc, and  of  Aquetaine,"  as  the  towns  of  each  of  those 
provinces  are  intended. 

"  We  do  those  things  frequently,  which  we  repent  of  after- 
ward ;"  instead  of,  "  We  frequently  do,  etc." 

"  It  has  not  a  word,  says  Pope,  but  what  the  author  re- 
ligiously thinks  in  it ;"  instead  of,  "  It  has  not  a  word  in  it, 
but  what,  etc." 

"In  1653,  all  these  parties  had  successively  appeared  and 
failed ;  tliey  appear  at  least  to  have  thought  so,  and  the  public 
was  sure  of  it."  This  sentence  is  susceptible  of  three  different 
meanings,  according  as  the  adverbial  clause,  "  at  least,"  is 
taken  to  limit  the  subject,  "they,"  the  verb  "appear,"  or  "to 
have  thought." 

"  Try,  however,  which  will  suffice  to  let  thee  discern  thy  own 
capacity,  and  will  be  a  likely  means  to  make  thee  willing, 
how  far  thou  canst  understand  and  trace  the  way,  comply- 
ing with  it  at  least  as  reasonable,  that  leads  to  this  blessed- 
ness." 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  PROPERTY  OF  CLEARNESS. 

Point  out  the  particular  kind  of  fault  against  clearness 
which  appears  in  each  of  the  following  passages. 

Sextus  the  Fourth  was,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  great  collector 
of  books  at  least. 

By  doing  the  same  thing,  it  often  becomes  habitual. 

Nor  does  this  false  modesty  expose  us  only  to  such  actions 
as  are  indiscreet,  but  very  often  to  such  as  are  highly  crim- 
inal. 

And  since  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  a  perpetual 
intercourse  of  buying  and  selling,  and  dealing  upon  credit, 
where  fraud  is  permitted  or  connived  at.  or  hath  no  law  to 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  173 

punish  it,  the  honest  dealer  is  always  undone,  and  the  knave 
gets  the  advantage. 

The  knight,  seeing  his  habitation  reduced  to  so  small  a 
compass,  and  himself  in  a  manner  shut  out  of  his  own  house, 
upon  the  death  of  his  mother,  ordered  all  the  apartments  to 
be  flung  open  and  exorcised  by  his  chaplain. 

They  were  both  more  ancient  among  the  Persians  than 
Zoroaster  or  Zerdusht. 

That  temperamental  dignotions,  and  conjecture  of  preva- 
lent humors  may  be  collected  from  spots  in  our  nails,  we 
are  not  averse  to  concede. 

Of  lower  consideration  is  the  common  foretelling  of  stran- 
gers from  the  fungous  parcel  about  the  wicks  of  candles ; 
which  only  signifieth  a  moist  and  pluvious  air  about  them, 
hindering  the  avolation  of  the  light  and  favillous  particles. 

I  cross  to  the  north  of  France,  to  the  free  towns  of  Flan- 
ders, to  those  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  belonging  to 
the  Hanseatic  League. 

The  description  Ovid  gives  of  his  situation,  in  that  first 
period  of  his  existence,  seems,  some  poetical  embellishments 
excepted,  such  as,  were  we  to  reason  a  priori,  we  should  con- 
clude he  was  placed  in. 

When  a  man  declares  in  autumn,  that  he  is  eating  them, 
or  in  spring  when  there  are  none,  that  he  loves  grapes. 

Nor  does  this  false  modesty  expose  us  only  to  such  actions 
as  are  indiscreet,  but  very  often  to  such  as  are  highly  crim- 
inal. 

If  he  was  not  the  greatest  king,  he  was  the  best  actor  of 
majesty  at  least,  that  ever  filled  a  throne. 

The  laws  of  nature  are>  truly,  what  Lord  Bacon  styles  his 
aphorisms,  laws  of  laws.  Civil  laws  are  always  imperfect, 
and  often  false  deductions  from  them  or  applications  of  them ; 
nay,  they  stand,  in  many  instances,  in  direct  opposition  to 
them. 


174  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

We  nowhere  meet  with  a  more  splendid  or  pleasing  show 
in  nature,  than  what  appears  in  the  heavens  at  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun,  which  is  wholly  made  up  of  those  differ- 
ent stains  of  light,  that  show  themselves  in  clouds  of  a 
different  situation. 

Solomon,  the  son  of  David,  who  built  the  temple  at  Je 
rusalem,  was  the  richest  monarch  that  ever  reigned  over  the 
Jewish  people. 

Mr.  Dryden  makes  a  very  handsome  observation  on  Ovid's 
writing  a  letter  from  Dido  to  ^Eneas  in  the  following  words. 

This  work  in  its  full  extent,  being  now  afflicted  with  an 
asthma,  and  finding  the  powers  of  life  gradually  declining, 
he  had  no  longer  courage  to  undertake. 

It  is  folly  to  pretend  to  arm  ourselves  against  the  acci- 
dents of  life,  by  heaping  up  treasures,  which  nothing  can 
protect  us  against,  but  the  good  providence  of  our  heavenly 
Father. 

God  heapeth  favors  on  his  servants  ever  liberal  and  faithful. 

He  atoned  for  the  murder  of  an  innocent  son  by  the  exe- 
cution, perhaps,  of  a  guilty  wife. 

He  conjured  the  Senate,  that  the  purity  of  his  reign  might 
not  be  stained  by  the  blood  even  of  a  guilty  Senator. 

They  were  summonly  occasionally  by  their  kings,  when 
compelled  by  their  wants  and  by  their  foes  to  have  recourse 
to  their  aid. 

That,  objectively,  the  excellency  of  the  spiritual  part  of 
our  being,  and,  subjectively,  the  worthiness  of  spiritual  ap- 
probation, is  the  highest  good,  there  is  at  once  given  a  ground 
for  the  ultimate  rule  of  life,  viz.:  that  all  voluntary  action 
should  be  held  in  subordination  to  the  dignity  of  the  ra- 
tional spirit. 

Thus  the  maxim  for  each  must  have  reference  to  his  rela- 
tions with  all,  and  no  man  may  be  allowed  to  take  for  his 
maxim  such  as  could  not  admit  that  it  micjht  be  universal. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  175 

(  know  tliat  all  words  which  are  signs  of  complex  ideas 
furnish  matter  of  mistake  and  cavil. 

I  have  long  since  learned  to  like  nothing  but  what  you  do. 

The  lecture  was  well  attended  and  generally  interesting, 

He  that  makes  a  jest  of  the  words  of  Scripture,  or  of 
holy  things,  plays  with  thunder,  and  kisses  the  mouth  of  a 
cannon  just  as  it  belches  fire  and  death ;  he  stakes  heaven  at 
spurn-point,  and  trips  cross  and  pile  whether  ever  he  shall 
see  the  face  of  God  or  no. 

He  who  means  to  win  souls  and  prevail  to  his  brother's 
institution,  must,  as  St.  Paul  did,  effigiate  and  conform  him- 
self to  those  circumstances  of  living  and  discourse,  by  which 
he  may  prevail  on  the  persuasions,  by  complying  with  the 
affections  and  usages  of  men. 

But  as  the  term  in  this  signification  has  been  employed 
recently,  rarely,  abusively,  and  without  imposing  authority, 
I  shall  discount  it. 

Ice  is  only  water  congealed  by  the  frigidity  of  the  air, 
whereby  it  acquireth  no  new  form,  but  rather  a  consistence 
or  determination  of  its  diffluency,  and  admitteth  not  its 
essence,  but  condition  of  its  fluidity.  Neither  doth  there 
anything  properly  con  glaciate  but  water,  or  watery  humid- 
ity ;  for  the  determination  of  quicksilver  is  properly  fixation, 
that  of  milk  coagulation,  and  that  of  oil  and  unctuous  bodies 
only  incrassation. 

Circles  and  right  lines  limit  and  close  all  bodies,  and  the 
mortal  right-lined  circle  must  conclude  and  shut  up  all. 

§  161.  ENERGY  is  either  PROPER  or  FIGURATIVE. 

PROPER  ENERGY  is  secured  to  style  in  accordance 
with  the  other  properties  ; 

FIGURATIVE  ENERGY,  by  a  greater  or  less  deviation 
from  them. 


176  OBJECTIVE   PROPERTIES. 

§  162.  PROPER  ENERGY  requires, 

I.  In  respect  to  the  kind  of  words  used,  that, 

1.  Anglo-Saxon  words  be  preferred  to  others 

2.  Words  of  national  and  popular  use  be  preferred 
to  barbarisms  ;  and, 

3.  The  more  specific  to  the  more  generic  and  abstract. 

II.  In  respect  to  the  number  of  words,  that  no  more 
words  than  are  consistent  with  clearness,  be  introduced, 
and  that  unexpressive  epithets  and  all  redundances  of 
expression  be  excluded. 

III.  In  respect  to  the  arrangement  of  the  parts  of 
the  sentence,  that, 

1.  Unity  be  preserved  by  the  admission  of  but  one 
leading  subject ; 

2.  That  the  leading  words  and  members  be  placed 
in  the  leading  parts  of  the  sentence,  which  is  generally 
in  the  beginning  and  the  end ; 

3.  That  the  related  words  or  members  be  placed,  so 
far  as  may  be,  in  proximity  with  each  other,  and  in  cor- 
responding parts  of  the  sentence. 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  PROPERTY  OF  ENERGY. 

Point  out  the  several  faults  against  energy  in  the  follow- 
ing extracts. 

They  have  forgot  the  apprehension  of  mortality. 

They  could,  thus,  enjoying  the  fame  of  their  passed  selves, 
make  accumulation  of  glory  unto  their  last  durations. 

It  is  six  months  ago  since  I  paid  a  visit  to  my  relations. 

The  reason  why  he  acted  in  the  manner  he  did,  was  not 
fully  explained. 

If  I  mistake  not,  I  think  he  is  improved  both  in  knowl- 
edge and  behavior. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  177 

Those  two  boys  appear  to  be  both  equal  in  capacity. 

Whenever  he  sees  me  he  always  inquires  concerning  his 
friends. 

The  reason  of  his  sudden  departure  was  on  account  of  the 
case  not  admitting  of  delay. 

That  discovery  is  now  universally  acknowledged  by  all  the 
inquirers  into  natural  philosophy. 

How  many  are  there,  by  whom  these  tidings  of  good  news 
were  never  heard. 

This  measure  may  afford  some  profit,  and  furnish  some 
amusement. 

Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  supposing  that  secrecy  had 
been  enjoined,  his  conduct  was  very  culpable. 

Less  capacity  is  required  for  this  business,  but  more  time 
is  necessary. 

I  shall,  in  the  first  place,  begin  with  remarking  the  defects, 
and  shall  then  proceed-  afterward  to  describe  the  excellences 
of  this  plan  of  education.  / 

And  Philip  the  Fourth  was  obliged,  at  last,  to  conclude 
a  peace,  on  terms  repugnant  to  his  inclination,  to  that 
of  his  people,  and  to  that  of  all  Europe,  in  the  Pyrenean 
treaty. 

Every  one  that  puts  on  the  appearance  of  goodness,  is  not 
good. 

We  came  to  our  journey's  end  at  last  with  no  small  difli- 
culty,  after  much  fatigue,  through  deep  roads  and  bad 
weather. 

Thought  and  language  act  and  react  upon  each  other  mu- 
tually. 

By  a  multiplicity  and  variety  of  words,  the  thoughts  and 
sentiments  are  not  set  off  and  accommodated ;  but  like  David 
dressed  out  and  equipped  in  Saul's  armor,  they  are  encum- 
bered and  oppressed. 

I  went  home  full  of  a  great  many  serious  impressions. 


178  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

In  this  uneasy  state  both  of  his  public  and  private  life, 
Cicero  was  oppressed  by  a  new  and  deep  affliction — the  death 
of  his  beloved  daughter  Tullia,  which  happened  soon  after 
her  divorce  from  Dolabella  ;  whose  manners  and  humors  were 
entirely  disagreeable  to  her. 

With  Cicero's  writings  these  persons  are  more  conversant 
than  with  those  of  Demosthenes,  who,  by  many  degrees,  ex- 
celled the  other,  at  least  as  an  orator. 

We  shall  examine  each  at  large,  in  its  own  order. 

Not  merely  that  civil  authority  is  useful,  is  it,  therefore, 
venerable. 

It  will  not  be  difficult  to  multiply  many  most  perplexing 
cases  of  casuistry. 

The  nearer  to  the  excellency  of  the  spirit  stands  the  right 
which  has  been  invaded,  so  is  the  personality  the  more  dis- 
honored, and  the  vice  of  greater  enormity. 

In  the  Attic  commonwealth  it  was  the  privilege  and  birth- 
right of  every  citizen  and  poet  to  rail  aloud,  and  in  public. 

When  black-browed  night  her  dusky  mantle  spread, 

And  wrapt  in  solemn  gloom  the  sable  sky ; 
When  soothing  sleep  her  opiate  dews  had  shed, 

And  sealed  in  silken  slumbers  every  eye : 
My  wakeful  thoughts  admit  no  balmy  rest, 

Nor  the  sweet  bliss  of  soft  oblivion  share ; 
But  watchful  woe  distracts  my  aching  breast, 

My  heart  the  subject  of  corroding  care. 
From  haunts  of  men  with  wandering  steps  and  slow, 

I  solitary  steal,  and  soothe  my  pensive  woe. 

§  163.  FIGURATIVE  ENERGY  is  founded  either 

1.  On  the  kind  and  number  of  words  employed ; 

2.  On  the  representative  imagery;  or, 

3.  On  the  structure  of  the  sentence. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  179 

§  164.  Those  forms  of  figurative  energy  depending 
on  the  kind  of  words  employed,  are  denominated  TROPES. 

A  TROPE  may  be  defined  to  be  a  word  employed  in 
a  different  import  from  that  which  properly  belongs  to 
it. 

§  165.  SIMPLE  TROPES  are  founded  on  direct  resem- 
blance of  properties  ;  as  "  the  grave  "  for  "  death." 

METAPHORS  are  Tropes  founded  on  resemblance  of  re- 
lations; as  "  growling  winds."  There  is  no  resemblance 
between  the  properties  of  "  winds,"  and  those  of 
"  wolves ;"  but  the  noise  of  the  former  is,  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  mind — in  its  effect,  like  the  growling  of 
wolves. 

§  166.  Simple  Tropes  are  of  two  kinds : 

1.  The    SYNECDOCHE,   when    the    objects    compared 
differ  in  degree,  as  "  Cicero  "  for  "  orator." 

2.  The  METONYMY,  where   they  differ   in  kind ;  as 
"  the  father  of  Jupiter,"  for  "  Saturn." 

§  167.  Figurative  energy  as  depending  on  the  num- 
ber of  words,  consists  either, 

1.  In  a  repetition  of  certain  words  not  required  in 
the  ordinary  form  of  expression,  as  "  They  may  fairly 
be  considered  to   have  made  a  great  discovery ;  a  dis- 
covery the  more  creditable,  etc. ;"  or, 

2.  In   an   omission   of  words   usually  required;   as 
"  Who    would    be    free,    themselves    must    strike    the 
blow,"  in  which  sentence,   the    antecedent  of  "who" 
and  subject  of  the  verb  "must  strike,"  is  omitted. 

§  168.  Figurative  energy  as  depending  on  the  rep- 
resentative imagery,  includes, 


180  OBJECTIVE   PROPERTIES. 

1.  Those  figures  which  consist  in  a  change  of  the' 
object,  or  of  its  relations ; 

2.  Those  which  consist  in  resemblance  or  contrast ; 

3.  Those  which  consist  in  a  change  from  the  ordi- 
nary mode  of  expressing  the  mental  condition  of  the 
speaker. 

§  169.  The  first  class  of  representative  figures   in- 
cludes, 

1.  VISION,  in  which  a  remote  object  is  represented 
as  present ;  as  "  His  forces  were  collected.     He  marched 
as  if  toward  Cyrrha.     But  he  seizes  Elatea." 

2.  PERSONIFICATION,  in  which  an  inanimate   object 
is  represented  as  a  living  being ;  as  "  Old  ocean  smiles." 

3.  HYPERBOLE,  in  which  the  object  is  represented  as 
magnified  or  diminished  beyond  reality ;  as  "  I  saw  their 
chief,  tall  as  a  rock  of  ice  ;  his  spear,  the  fir  ;  his  shield, 
the  rising  moon." 

§  170.  The    second   class    of   representative   images 
being  founded  on  resemblance  or  difference,  includes, 

1.  COMPARISON  PROPER   and  the   SIMILE,   in  which 
the  object  is  represented  through  the  properties  or  re- 
lations  of   similar    objects,   called    comparison  proper, 
when  the  represented  object  is  presented  as  leading ; 
as  "  The  voice  of  battle  was  as  when  the  thunder  rolls 
in  peals,  etc.;"  and  the  simile  when  the  representative 
object   is   presented   as   leading;    as    "  The  rain  beats 
hard;  the  thunder  rolls  in  peals.     Such  was  the  noise 
of  battle." 

2.  CONTRAST,  in  which  the  points  of  difference  in- 
stead of  resemblance,  as  in  comparison,  are  presented. 

3.  The  ALLEGORY,  which  is  but  an  extended  simile. 


OBJECTIVE  PROPERTIES.  181 

4.  The  ALLUSION,  which,  differs  from  the  compari- 
son proper,  in  its  referring  to  some  historical  object. 

§  171.  The  third  class  of  representative  figures,  in 
which  the  mental  condition  of  the  speaker  is  represented 
as  changed,  includes, 

1.  PROSOPOPCEIA,  in  which  the  speaker   personates 
another ;    as  when  Cicero  represents  himself  as  Milo, 
and  says,  "  Attend,  I  pray,  hearken,  0  citizens ;  I  have 
killed  Publius  Clodius,  etc." 

2.  APOSTROPHE,   in  which  the   speaker  turns  from 
his  proper  hearer   and   addresses   some   other  person, 
whether  present  in  reality  or  only  in  imagination  ;  as 
when  Cicero  turns  from  the  Senate,  which  he  was  ad- 
dressing, to  Catiline  as  if  he  were  present :  "  If,  now, 
Catiline,  I  should  order  you,  etc." 

3.  IRONY,  in  which  the  speaker  expresses  in  form, 
the  Tery  opposite  of  his  meaning ;  as  "  But  we  have 
a  right   to    tax    America.      0    inestimable   right !      0 
wonderful,  transcendent  right !  etc." 

4.  DOUBT,  in  which  the  speaker  represents  in  the 
form  of   doubt,  his   strongest  conviction ;  as  "  I  know 
not  which  way  to  turn  myself.     Shall  I  deny?  etc." 

5.  INTERROGATION,  in  which  confident  assertion  is 
presented  in  the  form  of  inquiry  or  demand;  as,  "Have 
any  alarms  been  occasioned  by  the  emancipation  of  our 
Catholic  brethren?     Has  the  bigoted  malignity  of  any 
individuals  been  crushed  ?" 

§  172.  Those  forms   of  figurative  energy  which  de- 
pend on  the  structure  of  the  sentence,  respect  either 
1.  The  order  and  connection  of  the  parts ;  as 


182  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

a.  INVERSION,  in  which  the  regular  syntactical  order 
is  changed;  as  "  Fallen  is  the  arm  of  battle;"  and 

b.  ANACOLUTHON,  in  which  the  form  with  which  the 
sentence  was  begun,  is  changed  to  one  which  is  not,  by 
principles  of  syntax,  compatible  with  it ;  or, 

2.  The  completeness  and  length  of  the  sentence,  as 
a.  APOSIOPESIS,   in   which   the   speaker   suppresses 

what  he  seems  about  to  utter ;  as  "  0    thou — by  what 

name  can  I  properly  call  thee  ?"  and 

5.  SENTENTIOUSNESS,  which  consists  in  breaking  up 

the  flow  of  thought  into  short,  fragmentary  sentences, 

through  the  eruptive  violence  of  the  speaker's  feelings. 

EXERCISES  ON  KHETORICAL  FIGURES. 

Name  the  figures  in  the  following  passages. 

Sorrow,  like  a  cloud  on  the  sun,  shades  the  soul  of  Cles- 
sanamor. 

As  roll  a  thousand  waves  to  a  rock,  so  Swaran's  host 
came  on. 

Go,  bind  thou  up  yon  dangling  apricots, 
Which,  like  unruly  children,  make  their  sire 
Stoop  with  oppression  of  their  prodigal  weight : 
Give  some  supportance  to  the  bending  twigs. 
Go  thou,  and  like  an  executioner 
Cut  off  the  heads  of  too-fast-growing  sprays, 
That  look  too  lofty  in  our  commonwealth  ; 
All  must  be  even  in  our  government. 

The  stormy  wind  is  laid;  but  the  billows  still  tremble  on 
the  deep,  and  seem  to  fear  the  blast. 

I  have  seen 

The  ambitious  ocean  swell,  and  rage,  and  foam, 
To  be  exalted  with  the  threatening  clouds. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  183 

Dermid  and  Oscar  were  one ;  they  reaped  the  battles 
together.  Their  friendship  was  strong  as  their  steel ;  and 
death  walked  between  them  to  the  field. 

An  impious  mortal  gave  the  daring  wound. 

And  the  merry  bells  ring  round, 
And  the  jocund  rebecks  sound. 

Why  peep  your  coward  swords  half  out  their  shells  ? 
Whose  hunger  has  not  tasted  food  these  three  days. 
The  jovial  wine  went  round. 

In  peace,  thou  art  the  gale  of  spring ;  in  war,  the  mount- 
ain-storm. 

Youth  and  beauty  shall  be  laid  in  the  dust. 

Or  have  ye  chosen  this  place 
After  the  toils  of  battle,  to  repose 
Your  wearied  virtue. 

Cool  age  advances,  venerably  wise. 

Thy  growing  virtues  justified  my  cares, 
And  promised  comfort  to  my  silver  hairs. 

Write,  my  Queen, 
And  with  my  eyes  I  '11  drink  the  words  you  send. 

Maecenas,  the  great  ornament  and  pillar  of  my  State. 
Often  met  their  eyes  of  love,  and  happy  were  their  words 
in  secret. 

The  people's  prayer,  the  glad  diviner's  theme  ; 
The  young  men's  vision,  and  the  old  men's  dream. 

Her  voice  is  but  the  shadow  of  a  sound. 

Silver  and  gold  have  I  none. 

Among  many  nations  there  was  no  king  like  Solomon. 


184  OBJECTIVE    PROPEBTIES. 

The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue ;  I  will  overtake ;  I  will 
divide  the  spoil ;  my  revenge  shall  be  satiated  upon  them  ; 
I  will  draw  my  sword ;  my  hand  shall  destroy  them  ;  thou 
blewest  with  thy  breath ;  the  sea  covered  them ;  they  sank 
as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Streaming  grief  his  faded  cheek  bedewed. 

Advance,  then,  ye  future  generations.  We  would  hail 
you,  as  you  rise  in  your  long  succession,  to  fill  the  places 
which  we  now  fill,  and  to  taste  the  blessings  of  existence, 
where  we  are  passing  and  soon  shall  have  passed  our  own 
human  duration.  We  bid  you  welcome  to  this  pleasant 
land  of  the  fathers. 

In  like  manner,  liberty  herself,  the  last  and  best  gift  of 
God  to  his  creatures,  must  be  taken  just  as  she  is.  You 
may  pare  her  down  into  bashful  regularity,  and  shape  her 
into  a  perfect  model  of  severe  scrupulous  law ;  but  she  will 
be  liberty  no  longer. 

The  clouds  rejoice  in  thy  presence,  0  morn  !  they  brighten 
their  dark-brown  sides. 

The  oar  is  stopped  at  once ;  he  panted  on  the  rock  and 
expired.  What  is  thy  grief,  0  Daura  !  when  round  thy  feet 
is  poured  thy  brother's  blood.  The  boat  is  broken  in  twain. 
Armar  plunges  into  the  sea,  to  rescue  his  Daura,  or  die. 
Sudden  a  blast  from  the  hill  came  over  the  waves.  He 
sunk,  and  he  rose  no  more. 

Gone  is  my  strength  in  war !  fallen  my  pride  among 
women  ! 

The  sources  of  the  noblest  rivers,  which  spread  fertility 
over  continents,  and  bear  richly -laden  fleets  to  the  sea,  are 
to  be  sought  in  wild  and  barren  mountain  tracts,  incorrectly 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  185 

laid  down  in  maps,  and  rarely  explored  by  travelers.  To 
such  a  tract,  the  history  of  our  country  during  the  thirteenth 
century,  may  not  unaptly  be  compared. 

To  be  nameless  in  worthy  deeds,  exceeds  an  infamous 
history.  The  Canaanitish  woman  lives  more  happily  with- 
out a  name,  than  Herodias  with  one.  And  who  would  not 
rather  have  been  the  good  thief,  than  Pilate  ? 

But  so  have  I  seen  the  sun  kiss  the  frozen  earth,  which 
was  bound  up  with  the  images  of  death,  and  the  colder 
breath  of  the  north  :  and  then  the  waters  break  from  their 
inclosures,  and  melt  with  joy,  and  run  in  useful  channels ; 
and  the  flies  do  rise  again  from  their  little  graves  in  walls, 
and  dance  a  while  in  the  air,  to  tell  that  there  is  joy  within, 
and  that  the  great  mother  of  creatures  will  open  the  stock 
of  her  new  refreshment,  become  useful  to  mankind,  and  sing 
praises  to  her  Redeemer :  so  is  the  heart  of  a  sorrowful 
man  under  the  discourses  of  a  wise  comforter ;  he  breaks 
from  the  despairs  of  the  grave,  and  the  fetters  and  chains 
of  sorrow ;  he  blesses  God,  and  he  blesses  the.e. 

The  whole  spiritual  universe  is  split  and  shattered  by  the 
hand  of  Atheism,  into  countless  quicksilver  points  of  indi- 
vidual existences,  which  twinkle,  melt  into  one  another,  and 
wander  about,  meet  and  part,  without  unity  and  consistency. 
No  one  is  so  much  alone  in  the  universe  as  the  denier  of 
Grod,  with  an  orphaned  heart,  which  has  lost  the  greatest 
of  fathers  ;  he  stands  mourning  by  the  immeasurable  corpse 
of  nature,  no  longer  moved  or  sustained  by  the  spirit  of  the 
universe,  but  growing  in  its  grave ;  and  he  mourns,  until  he 
himself  crumbles  away  from  the  dead  body. 

What  could  compensate  us  for  our  dreams,  which  bear  ug 
away  from  beneath  the  roar  of  the  waterfall  into  the  mount- 
16 


186  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

ain-hights  of  childhood,  where  the  stream  of  life,  yet  silent 
in  its  little  plain,  and  a  mirror  of  heaven,  flowed  toward  its 
precipices. 

But  let  me  ask  you,  in  these  last  few  days,  what  have  you 
not  attempted  ?  What  have  you  left  un violated  ?  By  what 
name  shall  I  now  address  you?  Shall  I  call  you  soldiers? 
Soldiers  !  who  have  dared  to  besiege  the  son  of  your  em- 
peror !  Can  I  call  you  citizens  ?  Citizens !  who  have  tram- 
pled under  foot  the  authority  of  the  senate. 

Discord,  discord  is  the  ruin  of  this  city.  What  motive, 
then,  could  have  such  influence  in  their  bosom?  What 
motive  ?  That  which  nature,  the  common  parent,  plants  in 
the  bosom  of  man. 

In  running  the  mind  along  the  numerous  list  of  sincere 
and  devout  Christians,  I  can  not  help  lamenting  that  New- 
ton had  not  lived  to  this  day,  to  have  had  his  shallowness 
filled  up  with  this  new  flood  of  light. 

But  if  a  man  were  present  now  at  a  field  of  slaughter, 
and  were  to  inquire  for  what  they  were  fighting ;  "  Fight- 
ing !"  would  be  the  answer,  u  they  are  not  fighting;  they 
are  pausing."  WThy  is  that  man  expiring?  Why  is  that 
other  writhing  with  agony?  What  means  this  implacable 
fury?"  The  answer  must  be:  "  You  are  quite  wrong,  sir; 
you  deceive  yourself;  they  are  not  fighting;  do  not  disturb 
them  ;  they  are  merely  pausing  !" 

I  can  tell  him,  sir,  that  Massachusetts  and  her  people  of 
all  classes,  hold  him.  and  his  love,  and  his  veneration,  and 
his  speeches  and  his  principles,  and  his  standard  of  truth  in 
utter — what  'shall  I  say  ? — anything  but  respect. 

King  James  is  evidently  worthy  of  being  enrolled  in  that 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  187 

little  constellation  of  remote,  but  never-failing  luminaries 
who  shine  in  the  highest  firmament  of  literature,  and  who, 
like  the  morning  stars,  sang  together  at  the  dawning  of 
British  poetry. 

An  ambition  to  have  a  place  in  the  registers  of  fame,  is  the 
Eurystheus  which  imposes  heroic  labors  on  the  human  mind. 

Short-lived,  indeed,  was  Irish  independence.     I  sat  by  her 
cradle ;  I  followed  her  hearse. 

§  173.  In  using  rhetorical  figures,  the  following  rules 
are  to  be  observed : 

1.  They  should  be  introduced  only  when  the  feelings 
prompt. 

2.  They  should  not  be  too  frequently  repeated. 

3.  When  used,   they  should  be  in  conformity  with 
their  own  laws. 

4.  They  should  always  be  congruous  and  consistent 
with  themselves. 

5.  They  should  be  suitable  to  the  thought  which 
they  represent. 

EXERCISES  IN  THE  USE  OF  RHETORICAL  FIGURES. 
Point  out  the  faults  in  the  following  figures  : 

He  can  not  buckle  his  distempered  cause 
Within  the  belt  of  rule. 

We  '11  make  foul  weather  with  despised  tears : 
Our  sighs,  and  they,  shall  lodge  the  summer-corn, 
And  make  a  dearth  in  this  revolting  land. 

There  is  a  time  when  factions,  by  the  vehemence  of  their 
own  fermentation,  stun  and  disable  one  another. 


188  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

Meantime  his  father,  now  no  father,  stood 
And  dried  his  wounds  by  Tiber's  yellow  flood. 

My  bleeding  bosom  sickens  at  the  sound. 

While  his  keen  falchion  drinks  the  warrior's  lives, 
A  various  sweetness  swells  the  gentle  race. 

A  sober  calm  fleeces  unbounded  ether. 
The  humid  sweat  from  every  pore  descends. 
As  when  the  piercing  blasts  of  Boreas  blow. 

There  is  not  a  single  view  of  human  nature  which  is  not 
sufficient  to  extinguish  the  seeds  of  pride. 

Hope,  the  balm  of  life,  darts  a  ray  of  light  through  the 
thickest  gloom. 

Since  the  time  that  reason  began  to  bud,  and  put  forth 
her  shoots,  thought,  during  our  waking  hours,  has  been  active 
in  every  breast,  without  a  moment's  suspension  or  pause. 
The  current  of  ideas  has  been  always  moving.  The  wheels 
of  the  spiritual  engine  have  exerted  themselves  with  per- 
petual motion. 

For,  as  the  sun  makes  violent  and  direct  emissions  of  his 
rays  from  himself,  but  reflects  them  no  farther  than  to  the 
bottom  of  a  cloud,  or  the  lowest  imaginary  circle  of  the 
middle  region,  and,  therefore,  receives  not  a  duplicate  of  his 
own  heat,  so  is  the  soul  of  man ;  it  reflects  on  its  own  in- 
ferior actions  of  particular  sense  or  general  understanding  ; 
but  because  it  knows  little  of  its  own  nature,  above  half  its 
pleasures  are  abated,  and  its  own  worth  less  understood. 

My  tears  are  the  sooner  dried  up  when  they  run  on  my 
friend's  cheeks  in  the  furrows  of  compassion. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

But  so  it  happens  in  the  mud  and  slime  of  the  river  Bor- 
borus,  when  the  eye  of  the  sun  hath  long  dwelt  on  it,  and 
produces  frogs  and  mice,  which  begin  to  move  a  little  under 
a  thin  cover  of  its  own  parental  matter,  and  if  they  can  get 
loose,  to  live  half  a  life,  that  is  all ;  but  the  hinder  parts, 
which  are  not  formed  before  the  setting  of  the  sun,  stick 
fast  in  the  beds  of  mud,  and  the  little  moiety  of  a  creature 
dies  before  it  could  be  well  said  to  live  :  so  it  is  with  those 
Christians,  who  will  do  all  that  they  think  lawful,  and  will 
do  no  more  than  what  they  suppose  necessary ;  they  do  but 
peep  into  the  light  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  ;  they  have 
the  beginnings  of  life ;  but  their  hinder  parts,  their  passions 
and  affections,  and  the  desires  of  the  lower  man  are  still  un- 
formed;  and  he  that  dwells  in  this  state,  is  just  so  much  of 
a  Christian  as  a  sponge  is  of  a  plant,  and  a  mushroom  of  a 
shrub ;  they  may  be  as  sensible  as  an  oyster,  and  discourse  at 
the  rate  of  a  child,  but  are  greatly  short  of  the  righteousness 
evangelical. 

Only  a  sweet  and  virtuous  soul, 
Like  seasoned  timber  never  gives  ; 

But,  though  the  whole  world  turn  to  coal, 
Then  chiefly  lives. 

He  laid  down  his  arms,  and  with  three  touches,  flew  boldly 
over  the  uppermost  octave  of  the  stairs  down  to  the  counter- 
base  touch,  or  step. 

§  174.  ELEGANCE  in  style  embraces  three  elements: 
.     1.  PROPRIETY; 

2.  EXPRESSION  or  RIGHT  SENTIMENT; 

3,  GRACE. 


190  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

§  175.  PROPRIETY  requires, 

1.  A  just  expression  of  the  properties  of  style  al- 
ready enumerated ; 

2.  A  symmetry  and  congruity  in  the  parts  of  the 
discourse ; 

3.  An  adaptation  of  the  verbal   expression  to  the 
character  of  the  theme  ; 

4.  The  observance  of  a  general  decorum  in  refer- 
ence to  the  character  of  the  writer,  and  the  object  and 
occasion  of  writing. 

§  176.  THE  EXPRESSION  OE  RIGHT  SENTIMENT  in- 
volves the  use  of  such  representative  imagery  in  the 
exhibition  of  thought,  as  is  founded  on  high  and  pure 
associations. 

§  177.  GRACE  is  that  quality  of  style  which  exhibits 
ease  and  freedom  of  execution,  both  in  the  development 
of  the  thought  and  in  the  expression  in  language. 

§  178.  Elegance  is  to  be  acquired, 

1.  By  general  mental  culture  ; 

2.  By  study  of  principles  and  models  in  art  and  lit- 
erature ; 

«      3.  By  exercise  with  judicious  criticisms. 

§  179.  Elegance  is  a  property  of  style  not  to  be  dis- 
tinctly aimed  at  in  writing.  It  should  rather  appear  as 
a  result  of  training  and  general  culture. 

§  180.  Of  the  three  objective  properties  of  style, 
clearness  respects  directly  the  intellect,  seeking  simply 
to  secure  a  correct  and  ready  apprehension  of  the 
thought,  and  may  be  distinctly  sought  and  aimed  at  in 
writing  ; 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  191 

Energy  respects  more  directly  the  feelings,  seeking 
a  vivid  and  strong  impression  on  the  mind,  and  should 
appear  as  the  result  of  earnestness  and  passion  in  the 
speaker ; 

Elegance  respects  the  imagination  and  the  taste, 
seeking  to  awaken  and  gratify  the  sensibility  to  the 
beautiful,  and  should  be  the  result  of  general  culture 
and  refinement. 

EXERCISES  ON  THE  PROPERTY  OF  ELEGANCE. 

Point  out  the  faults  against  elegance  in  the  following  pas- 
sages. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  became  formed  those  great  com- 
binations by  means  of  alliance,  which,  at  a  later  period,  gave 
rise  to  the  system  of  the  balance  of  power. 

Scarcely  have  feudalism,  municipal  communities,  and  the 
clergy,  each  taken  their  distinct  place  and  fqrm,  when  we 
have  seen  them  to  approximate,  unite,  and  form  themselves* 
into  a  general  social  system. 

He  has  the  right  to  command  what  choices  we  may  have, 
and  not  merely  what  and  how  we  may  execute  them. 

Religion  is  never  to  be  viewed  as  if  it  had  its  end  in  mak- 
ing men  virtuous,  nor  obedient  to  human  law,  and  thus  that 
God's  government  was  only  a  means  for  making  human  soci- 
ety more  moral  and  more  free  ;  but  quite  the  other  side  fore- 
most. 

Such  constraint  from  complete  loyalty  is  alone  piety.  Not 
as  a  hireling  or  a  slave,  but  solely  with  a  loyal,  trusting,  lov- 
ing heart,  does  any  obedience  satisfy  the  Divine  law. 


192  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

Therefore,  something' not  punishment,  but  which,  other 
than  it,  is  yet  to  take  the  place  of  it — some  substitute  for 
it  is  yet  to  be  provided. 

Having  been  so  frequently  overwhelmed  with  her  tears  be- 
fore I  knew  the  cause  of  my  affliction,  or  could  draw  defenses 
from  my  own  judgment,  I  imbibed  commiseration,  remorse, 
and  an  unmanly  gentleness  of  mind,  which  has  since  insnared 
me  into  ten  thousand  calamities. 

I  do  n't  wonder  to  find  more  remains  here  of  an  age  so  dis- 
tant, than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  country ;  the  Turks 
not  taking  that  pains  to  introduce  their  own  manners,  as  has 
been  generally  practiced  by  other  nations  that  imagine  them- 
selves more  polite. 

I  was  at  the  same  age,  very  near,  as  wise  as  you,  and  yet 
I  never  discovered  this,  with  full  evidence  and  conviction  I 
mean,  till  it  was  too  late. 

The  Ode,  though  in  some  respects  inferior  to  what  are 
called  the  higher  species  of  poetry,  yields  to  none  in  force, 
ardor,  and  sometimes  even  in  dignity  and  harmony. 

What  is  it  but  a  kind  of  rack  that  forces  men  to  say  what 
they  have  no  mind  to  ? 

I  am  wonderfully  pleased  when  I  meet  with  any  passage 
in  an  old  Greek  or  Latin  author,  that  is  not  blown  upon,  and 
which  I  have  never  met  with  in  a  quotation. 

As  the  strength  of  our  cause  does  not  depend  upon,  so 
neither  is  it  to  be  decided  by,  any  critical  points  of  history, 
chronology,  or  language. 

Socrates  was  invited  to  and  Euripides  entertained  at  his 
court. 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  193 

Mr.  Liebold  appears,  at  this  anniversary  dinner,  in  a  new 
coat,  which  for  many  years  past  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
first  wearing  upon  this  auspicious  day, 

I  think  nothing  so  terrible  as  objects  of  misery,  except  one 
had  the  godlike  attribute  of  being  capable  to  redress  them. 

The  Eastern  manners  give  a  great  light  into  many  Scripture 
passages. 

Everybody  is  bound  to  do  diligently  all  the  good  they 
can. 

The  parade  of  it  can  only  serve  to  draw  on  her  the  envy, 
and  consequently  the  most  inveterate  hatred  of  all  he  and  she 
fools,  which  will  certainly  be  at  least  three  parts  in  four  of 
her  acquaintance. 

It  was  a  great  mortification  to  me  when  my  father  turned 
off  my  master,  having  made  a  considerable  progress  for  the 
short  term  I  learned. 

Everybody  can  offer  up  their  prayers  for  those  who  need 
them. 

Nothing  is  so  improving  to  the  temper  as  the  study  of  the 
beauties  either  of  poetry,  eloquence,  music,  or  painting. 

I  do  not  make  the  least  doubt  but  you  will  become  a  per- 
fect good  scholar. 

You  much  overrate  the  obligation  which  youth  has  to  those 
who  have  trod  the  paths  of  the  world  before  them,  for  their 
friendly  advice  how  to  seize,  cultivate,  and  carry  forward  to- 
ward perfection  those  advantages,  graces,  virtues,  and  felici- 
ties, which  they  may  have  totally  missed,  or  stopped  short 
in  the  generous  pursuit. 
17 


194  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

He  that  should  steadily  and  resolutely  assigi  to  any  science 
or  language  those  interstitial  vacancies  which  intervene  in  the 
most  crowded  variety  of  diversion  or  employment,  would  find 
every  day  new  irradiations  of  knowledge. 

Pimps  of  hideous  aspect,  whose  prurient  glance  could  pen- 
etrate through  the  key-hole  of  rooms  where  the  rat  shared 
with  the  bug  the  solitude  of  the  deserted  place. 

The  want  of  order  was  severely  felt  and  cried  out  for  with 
a  zeal  that  would  not  be  said  nay. 

Christ  left  his  grave-clothes,  that  we  might,  when  grief 
Draws  tears  or  blood,  not  want  a  handkerchief. 

I  am  tormented  with  an  everlasting  itch  for  things  remote. 
A  speechlessly  quick  chaotic  bundling  of  a  man  into  eternity. 

In  landlessness  alone  resides  the  highest  truth,  indefinite 
as  the  Almighty. 

Like  a  man  cut  away  from  the  stake,  when  the  fire  has  over- 
runningly  wasted  all  the  limbs,  without  consuming  them  or  tak- 
ing away  one  particle  from  their  compacted  aged  robustness. 

He  does  not  seem  almost  to  have  conceived  the  possibility, 
etc. 

He  considers  that  the  former  afford  us  a  knowledge  of 
what  the  corresponding  qualities  are  in  themselves. 

The  poorness  of  our  conceptions  is  such  that  it  can  not  for- 
bear setting  bounds  to  everything  it  contemplates. 

I  have,  indeed,  one  who  smokes  with  me  often;  but  his 
parts  are  so  low  that  all  the  incense  he  does  me  is  to  fill 
his  pipe  with  me,  and  to  be  out  at  just  as  many  whiffs  as 


OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES.  195 

I  take.  This  is  all  the  praise  or  assent  that  he  is  capable 
of;  yet  there  are  more  hours  when  I  would  rather  be  in  his 
company  than  that  of  the  brightest  man  I  know. 

A  severe  reprehender  of  another's  vice  comes  dressed  like 
3  acob,  when  he  went  to  cozen  his  brother  of  the  blessing ; 
his  outside  is  "  rough  and  hairy,"  but  "  the  voice  is  Jacob's 
voice :"  rough  hands  and  a  healthful  language  get  the  bless- 
ing, even  against  the  will  of  him  that  shall  feel  it. 

* 

The  members  of  a  popular  government  should  be  continu- 
ally availed  of  the  situation  and  condition  of  every  part. 

Most  of  the  respectable  inhabitants  hold  commissions  in 
the  army  or  government  offices,  the  balance  of  the  people 
kept  little  shops,  cultivated  the  ground,  etc. 

These  men  demand  either  to  be  left  owners  of  the  soil  or 
paid  for  their  betterments. 

Lord  Palmerston  was  boosted  into  power  by  the  agricul- 
tural interest  of  England. 

It  is  a  common  story,  and  I  will  tell  you  all  of  it  I  can 
think  on.  But  some  things  perhaps  I  may  disremember. 

Although  such  reverses  would  seem  to  fall  with  crushing 
weight  upon  some  of  our  most  substantial  citizens,  a  strong 
determination  to  face  the  music  is  everywhere  manifested 

In  our  opinion,  America  is  a  dashing,  go-ahead,  and  highly 
progressive  country,  giving  by  her  institutions  and  enormous 
growth  the  solution  of  the  greatest  political  problem  in  the 
world. 

One  may  guess  by  Plato's  writings,  that  his  meaning  as  to 
the  inferior  deities  was,  that  they  who  would  have  them  might, 


196  OBJECTIVE    PROPERTIES. 

and  they  who  would  not  might  let  them  alone  ;  but  that  him- 
self had  a  right  opinion  concerning  the  true  God. 

The  one  circumflows  and  inheavens  us.  The  infinite  Father 
bears  us  in  his  bosom,  shepherd  and  flock. 

I  could  discourse  lengthily  on  the  names  of  Jugurtha,  Juba, 
Syphax,  etc. 

She  untied  her  hair,  then  began  to  twirl  the  ringlets  round 
her  fingers  and  play  with  them  in  a  coquettish  manner,  which 
she  seemed  to  think  mighty  killing,  for  she  smiled  in  evident 
self-conceit. 

Mr.  Speaker,  when  I  arose  on  yesterday,  it  was  my  inten- 
tion merely  to  explain  my  position. 

He,  to  work  him  the  more  mischief,  sent  over  his  brother 
Edward,  with  a  power  of  Scots  and  Eedshanks,  into  Ireland, 
where  they  got  footing. 

To  the  faculty  of  law  was  joined  a  pretty  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  faculty  of  medicine. 

A  cry  was  raised  for  the  establishment  of  a  preventative 
armed  police. 

Such  are  the  inconsistencies  of  a  flatterer,  progressing  from 
his  butterfly  state  into  the  vermicular  slime  of  a  libeler. 

Spain  has  obtained  a  breathing  spell  of  some  duration  from 
the  internal  convulsions  which  have  through  so  many  years 
marred  her  prosperity. 


APPENDIX   I, 

PROSODY. 

§  1.  PROSODY  treats  of  the  form  of  Poetry. 

§  2.  The  regular  recurrence  of  some  element  consti- 
tutes the  essence  of  poetical  form. 

§  3.  This  recurrence  may  be  of  several  kinds ;  as  of, 

1.  Letters,  as  in  ALLITERATION; 

2.  Syllables,  as  in  RHYME  ; 

3.  Measures,  as  in  BLANK  Verse ; 

4.  Sentences,  as  in  HEBREW  Poetry; 

5.  Stanzas. 

§  4.  ALLITERATION  consists  in  the  recurrence  of  the 
same  letter  at  the  beginning  of  prominent  syllables ;  as, 
The  abundant  Latin  then  old  Latium  lastly  left. 

Alliteration  was  a  leading  characteristic  of  Anglo-Saxon 
as  of  Gothic  poetry. 

The  law  of  recurrence  in  Anglo-Saxon  was,  that  the  letter 
should  be  at  the  beginning  of  two  conspicuous  syllables  in 
one  line,  and  of  one  such  syllable  in  the  next.  The  follow- 
ing exemplification  is  from  "  The  vision  and  creed  of  Piers 
Plowman,"  about  the  earliest  poetical  composition  in  our 
language : 

Who  is  trewe  of  his  tonge, 

And  telleth  noon  oother, 

And  dooth  the  werkes  therwith, 

(197) 


198  PROSODY. 

And  willneth  no  man  ille, 
He  is  a  God  by  the  gospel, 
A-ground  and  o-loft, 
And  a-lik  to  our  Lord, 
By  Seint  Luke's  wordes. 
The  Clerkes  that  knowen  this 
Sholde  knowen  it  abowte 
For  cristen  and  un-cristen 
Cleymeth  it  each  one. 

§  5.  RHYME  is  the  recurrence  of  the  same  sound  in 
the  accented  syllables  of  words  at  the  end  of  a  verse. 

Friend  of  distress !  the  mourner  feels  thy  aid ; 
She  can  not  pay  thee,  but  thou  wilt  be  paid. 

If  the  recurrence  is  confined  to  two  verses,  they  compose 
a  distich  or  couplet. 

If  the  recurrence  is  extended  to  three  verses,  they  com- 
pose a  triplet. 

But  true  expression,  like  the  unchanging  sun, 
Clears  and  improves  whate'er  it  shines  upon ; 
It  gilds  all  objects,  but  it  alters  none. 

§  6.  A  rhyme  is  perfect  when  the  following  elements 
concur,  viz. : 

1.  Similarity  in  the  vowel  sounds  in  accented  syl- 
lables ; 

2.  Similarity  in  the  consonant  sounds  that  follow  the 
vowel,  if  any ; 

3.  Diversity  in  the  consonant  sounds  that  precede 
the  vowel. 

Such  was  the  muse  whose  rules  and  practice  tell 
"  Nature's  chief  master-piece  is  writing  well." 


PROSODY.  199 

§  7.  A   rhyme  ^  is    imperfect   when   any  one  of  the 
*ibove  enumerated  elements  is  wanting ;  or  when  either, 

1.  The  vowel  sounds  are  dissimilar ;  or, 

2.  The  like  vowel  sounds  are  either  of  them  not  on 
any  accented  syllable;   or, 

3.  The  vowel  sounds   are  followed  by  unlike   con- 
sonant sounds;  or, 

4.  The  vowel  sounds  are  preceded  by  like  conso- 
nant sounds, 

The  following  is  an  instance  of  the  first  kind  of  imperfect 
rhymes  : 

In  grave  Quintilian's  copious  work  we  find 
The  justest  rules  and  clearest  method  joined. 

This  belongs  to  what  are  called  allowable  rhymes. 
Of  the  second  kind,  the  following  is  an  instance : 

Horace  still  charms  with  graceful  negligence, 
And,  without  method,  talks  us  into  sense. 

Of  the  third  kind,  is  the  following : 

Wherefore  he  bids  the  squire  ride  further 
To  observe  their  numbers  and  their  order. 

Of  the  fourth  kind,  is  the  following : 

Is  plain  enough  to  him  that  knows 
How  saints  lead  brothers  by  the  nose. 

This  to  prevent,  and  other  harms 
Which  always  wait  on  feats  of  arms. 

NOTE. — The  h  is  not  regarded  as  a  letter  in  estimating  rhymes. 


200  PROSODY. 

§  8.  Rhymes  are  single  when  the  recurrence  of  the 
similar  sounds  is  confined  to  single  syllables ;  as 

Avoid  extremes,  and  shun  the  fault  of  such 
Who  still  are  pleased  too  little  or  too  much. 

§  9.  Rhymes  are  double  when  the  recurrence  of 
similar  sounds  is  extended  to  an  unaccented,  besides  the 
accented  syllable ;  as 

The  beaten  soldier  proves  most  manful, 
That,  like  his  sword,  endures  the  anvil, 
And  justly  's  held  more  formidable 
The  more  his  valor  's  malleable  : 
But  he  that  fears  a  bastinado 
Will  run  away  from  his  own  shadow. . 

§  10.  Rhymes  are  triple  when  the  recurrence  is  ex- 
tended to  three  syllables ;  as 

0  ye  immortal  gods  !  what  is  theogony  ? 

0  thou,  too,  immortal  man  !  what  is  philanthropy  ? 

0  world  that  was  and  is !  what  is  cosmogony  ? 
Some  people  have  accused  me  of  misanthropy, 
And  yet  I  know  no  more  than  the  mahogany 

That  forms  this  desk  of  what  they  mean  :  lycanthropy 

1  comprehend  ;  for  without  transformation 
Men  become  wolves  on  any  slight  occasion. 

§  11.  Rhymes  are  successive  when  the  recurrence  is 
in  two  succeeding  verses;  as 

But  gold  defiles  with  frequent  touch, 
There  's  nothing  fouls  the  hands  so  much. 

Hhymes  are  alternate,  when  the  recurrence  is  on  alternate 
syllables ;  as 


PROSODY.  201 

The  heavens  invite  mine  eye, 

The  stars  salute  me  round ; 
Father,  I  blush,  I  mourn  to  lie  - 

Thus  groveling  on  the  ground. 

Rhymes  are  interrupted  when  separated  by  more  than 
one  verse  ;  as 

Only  the  laurel  got  by  peace 
No  thunder  e'er  can  blast : 
The  artillery  of  the  skies 

Shoots  to  the  earth  and  dies : 
And  ever  green  and  nourishing  't  will  last, 
Nor  dipt  in  blood,  nor  widows'  tears,  nor  orphan's  cries. 

§  12.  A  MEASURE  (  =  foot)  consists  of  an  accented 
syllable,  with  one  or  more  unaccented  syllables  pro- 
nounced with  it. 

§  13.  The  measures  or  feet  chiefly  used  in  English 
verse,  are  either, 

1.  DISSYLLABIC;  or 

2.  TRISYLLABIC. 

§  14.  Dissyllabic  measures  are  of  two  kinds : 

1.  The  IAMBUS,  consisting  of  one  unaccented,  and 
one  accented  syllable;  as  subdue,  domain. 

2.  The  TROCHEE,   consisting  of  one   accented,  and 
one  unaccented  syllable;  as  battle. 

Trisyllabic  measures  are  of  three  kinds : 

1.  The  DACTYLE,  consisting  of   one   accented,   fol- 
lowed by  two  unaccented  syllables ;  as  merrily ; 

2.  The   AMPHIBRACH,    consisting   of   one    accented 
syllable,  preceded  and  followed  by  an  unaccented  syl- 
lable ;  as  amusing ; 


202  PROSODY. 

3.  The  ANAPEST,  consisting  of  two  unaccented  syl- 
lables, followed  by  an  accented  syllable ;  as,  intervene. 

Other  measures  occur,  but  unfrequently. 

The  Paeon,  consisting  of  four  syllables,  is  sometimes  used 
with  a  rich  expression,  as  in  the  following  verses,  which  are 
catalectic.  It  here  occurs  in  the  third  form,  consisting  of 
an  accented  syllable,  followed  by  one,  and  preceded  by  two 
unaccented  syllables. 

Once  to  every  |  man  and  nation  |  comes  the  moment  |  to 

decide. 
In  the  strife  of  |  truth  with  falsehood,  |  for  the  good  or  | 

evil  side. 

The  Rising  Ionic  measure,  also,  consisting  of  two  unac- 
cented, followed  by  two  accented  syllables,  is  found  in  the 
following  catalectic  verse : 

There  's  a  good  time  |  coming,  boys  ! 

§  15.  A  VERSE  consists  of  one  or  more  measures  or 
feet. 

A  verse  of  one  measure  is  called  a  Monometer ; 
of  two  measures,  a  Dimeter ; 

of  three,  a  Trimeter  ; 

of  four,  a  Tetrameter  ; 

of  five,  a  Pentameter  ; 

of  six,  an  Hexameter. 

There  may  be,  accordingly,  Iambic  Monometers 
Iambic  Dimeters,  and  so  on ;  as  also  Trochaic,  Dacty- 
lic, Anapestic,  and  Amphibrach  Monometers,  Dimeters, 
etc. 


PROSODY.  203 

A  verse  may  be  composed  also  of  different  kinds  of 
measure,  as  of  anapests  and  trochees  in  the  even  verses 
of  the  following : 

Let  Erin  remember  her  days  of  old, 
Ere  her  faithless  sons  betrayed  her, 

When  Malachi  wore  the  collar  of  gold, 
Which  he  won  from  the  proud  invader. 

The  early  English  verse  contained  two  accented  syllables, 
but  required  no  regular  recurrence  of  similar  measures  or  feet, 
as  appears  in  the  extract  already  given  from  Piers  Plowman, 
§4- 

§  16.  A  verse  is  called  CATALECTIC  when  one  or  more 
syllables  of  the  regular  law  of  the  verse  are  omitted  at 
the  end;  as, 

Pa'le  agai'n  as  de'ath  did  pro've  ; 
A'nd  he  chee'red  her  so'ul  with  lo've. 

Here  the  last  syllable  of  the  final  trochee  is  omitted. 

§  17.  A  verse  is  called  Hyper-catalectic  when  a  syl- 
lable is  added  beyond  the.  law  of  the  verse ;  as, 

Prove  and  explain  a  thing  till  all  men  doubt  it ; 
And  write  about  it,  G-oddess,  and  about  it. 

Here  the  syllable  it  is  added  to  the  regular  verse. 

§  18.  One  measure  may  be  substituted  for  another 
when  a  like  effect  on  the  ear  may  be  produced  by  the 
accentuation. 

The  iambus  and  the  anapest  may  thus  be  inter- 
changed ;  or,  the  trochee  and  the  dactyle. 


204  PROSODY. 

EXAMPLES  OF  THE  VARIOUS  KINDS  OP  YERSE. 

IAMBICS. 

All,  all  was  luxury ! 

All  must  be  luxury,  where  Lyaeus  smiles. 
His  locks  divine, 
Were  crowned 
With  a  bright  meteor  braid. 

The  first  of  these  verses  is  an  Iambic  Trimeter ;  the  second, 
an  Iambic  Pentameter ;  the  third,  an  Iambic  Dimeter ;  the 
fourth,  an  Iambic  Monometer ;  and  the  last,  an  Iambic  Tet- 
rameter. 

I  could  have  wished  your  souls  redoubled  in  my  breast, 
To  give  my  verse  applause  to  time's  eternal  rest. 

These  two  verses  are  Iambic  Hexameters,  or  Alexandrines. 
The  Iambic  Pentameter  is  also  called  Heroic  verse.  Iambic 
Verses  of  seven  and  eight  feet  also  occur,  but  rarely. 


TKOCHAICS. 

Manometers. 
Turning, 
Burning, 
Changing, 
Hanging 
Full  of  grief  and  full  of  love. 

Dimeters. 

Hope  is  banished, 
Joys  are  vanished. 


PliOSODY.  205 

Dimeters  Catalectic 
Tumult  cease 
Sink  to  peace. 

Trimeters,  Catalectic  and  Full,  Alternating. 
Sages  can,  they  say, 

Seize  the  lightning's  pinion, 
And  bring  down  its  ray 

From  the  starred  dominion. 

Tetrameters,   Catalectic  and  full. 
Yital  spark  of  heavenly  flame  ! 
Quit,  0  quit  this  mortal  frame ! 
Trembling,  hoping,  lingering,  flying; 
0  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying. 

Pentameters,  full  and  Catalectic. 
Narrowing  in  to  where  they  sat  assembled, 
Low,  voluptuous  music  winding  trembled, 
Wov'n  in  circles ;  they  that  heard  it  sighed, 

Panted,  hand  in  hand,  with  faces  pale, 
Swung  themselves,  and  in  low  tones  replied. 

Hexameters. 

On  a  mountain,  stretched  beneath  a  hoary  willow, 
Lay  a  shepherd  swain,  and  viewed  th'e  rolling  billow. 

Heptameters. 
Then  her  cheek  was  pale  and  thinner  than  should  be  for  one 

so  young, 
And  her  eyes  on  all  my  motions  with  a  mute  observance 

hung. 


206  PROSODY. 

Octameters. 
Here  's  to  thee,  my  Scottish  lassie !  here  's  a  hearty  health 

to  thee, 
For  thine  eye  so  bright,  thy  form  so  light,  and  thy  step  so 

firm  and  free. 


DACTYLICS. 

Monometers. 

Fearfully, 

Tearfully, 

She  hastened  on  our  way. 

Dimeters,  Full  and  Catalectic. 
Fast  they  come,  fast  they  come, 

See  how  they  gather ! 
Wide  waves  the  eagle  plume, 

Blended  with  leather. 

Cast  your  blades,  draw  your  blades, 

Forward  each  man  set! 
Pibroch  of  Donuil  Dhu, 

Knell  for  the  onset. 

Launch  thy  bark,  mariner! 

Christian,  God  speed  thee. 
Let  loose  the  rudder-bands ; 

Good  angels  leave  thee. 

Trimeter S,  Catalectic. 

Peace  to  thee,  isle  of  the  ocean, 
Peace  to  thy  breezes  and  billows. 


PROSODY.  207 

Tetrameter 's,  Catalectic. 

Warriors  or  chiefs,  should  the  shaft  or  the  sword 
Pierce  me  in  leading  the  host  of  the  Lord, 
Heed  not  the  corpse,  though  a  king  's  in  your  path, 
Bury  your  steel  in  the  bosoms  of  Gath. 

Hexameters,  Catalectic. 
Loosing  his  arms  from  her  waist,  he  flew  upward,  awaiting 

the  sea-beast. 
Onward  it  came  from  the  southward,  as  bulky  and  black  as 

a  galley, 
Lazily  coasting  along  as  the  fish  fled  leaping  before  it. 


AMPHIBBACHS. 

Manometers. 
Hearts  beating 
At  meeting ; 
Tears  starting 
At  parting. 

Dimeters,  Catalectic. 
Beside  her  are  laid 
Her  mattock  and  spade ; 
Alone  she  is  there, 
Her  shoulders  are  bare. 

Dimeters,  Full. 
But  vainly  thou  wariest; 
For  this  is  alone  in 
Thy  power  to  declare, 
That  in  the  dim  forest, 
Thou  heard'st  a  low  moaning. 


208  PROSODY. 

1  Trimeters. 

A  conquest  how  hard  and  how  glorious ; 
Though  fate  had  fast  bound  her, 
With  Styx  nine  times  around  her, 

Yet  music  and  love  were  victorious. 

The  second  and  third  verses  in  this  selection  are  amphi- 
brach dimeters. 

Tetrameters. 

0  !  young  Lochinvar  is  come  out  of  the  west : 
Through  all  the  wide  border  his  steeds  are  the  best ; 
And  save  his  good  broadsword,  he  weapons  had  none, 
He  rode  all  unarmed,  and  he  rode  all  alone. 


ANAPESTICS. 

Manometers. 
In  a  sweet 
Resonance, 
All  their  feet 
In  the  dance, 
All  the  night 
Twinkled  light. 

Dimeters,  Ca ta lectic. 
He  is  gone  on  the  mountain, 

He  is  lost  to  the  forest, 
Like  a  summer-dried  fountain, 

When  our  need  was  the  sorest. 

Dimeters^  Full  and  Oatalectic. 
Now  the  summer  's  in  prime 

With  the  flowers  richly  blooming, 


PROSODY.  209 

And  the  wild  mountain  thyme 
All  the  moorlands  perfuming. 

Tetrameters. 

The  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold  ; 
And  the  sheen  of  the  spears  was  like  stars  on  the  sea, 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  deep  Gralilee. 

§  19.  A  recurrence  of  sentences  is  a  peculiarity  of 
Hebrew  poetry,  in  which  couplets  of  thoughts  are  ar- 
ranged together.  It  is  called  PARALLELISM. 

In  the  original  the  parallelism  is  marked  by  accents, 

Hebrew  parallelism  is, 

1.  Synonymous,  when  the  thought  is  repeated  in  nearly 
the  same  form ;  as, 

For  affliction  comes  not  forth  from  the  dust ; 
And  trouble  comes  not  forth  from  the  ground. 

2.  Antithetic,  when  an  opposition  or  contrast  is  express- 
ed; as, 

A  wise  son  makes  a  glad  father ; 

But  a  foolish  son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother. 

3.  Synthetic,  when  the  thought  is  expanded  or  modified. 

One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord, 

That  will  I  seek  after : 

That  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of 

my  life, 

To  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord, 
And  to  inquire  in  his  temple. 
18 


210  PROSODY. 

§  20.  The  STANZA  consists  of  several  verses. 

As  verses  are  combined  in  almost  innumerable  ways,  there 
s  no  definite  system  of  versification  by  stanzas. 

Certain  combinations  of  verses,  however,  have  gained  favor 
and  received  peculiar  designations.  Such  are, 

The  Spenserian  Stanza,  which  consists  of  eight  heroics  or 
iambic  pentameters,  and  one  Alexandrine  or  iambic  hexam- 
eter. The  first  and  third  verses  rhyme  ;  the  second,  fourth, 
fifth,  and  seventh  ;  and  the  sixth,  eighth,  and  ninth. 

Existence  may  be  borne,  and  the  deep  root 
Of  life  and  sufferance  make  its  firm  abode 
In  bare  and  desolated  bosoms.     Mute 
The  camel  labors  with  the  heaviest  load, 
And  the  wolf  dies  in  silence.     Not  bestowed 
In  vain  should  such  example  be ;  if  they, 
Things  of  ignoble  or  of  savage  mood, 
Endure  and  shrink  not,  we  of  nobler  clay 
May  temper  it  to  bear ;  it  is  but  for  a  day. 

Gay's  Stanza  is  composed  of  four  verses  of  iambic  trim- 
eters, the  rhymes  being  alternate  and  the  odd  verses  being  in 
double  rhymes. 

7T  was  when  the  seas  were  roaring 

D 

With  hollow  blasts  of  wind, 
A  damsel  lay  deploring, 
All  on  a  rock  reclined. 

Elegiac  Stanzas  consist  of  four  verses  of  heroics  or  iambio 
pentameters. 

The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day ; 

The  lowing  herds  wind  slowly  o'er  the  lea ; 
The  ploughman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 

And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 


PROSODY.  211 

Rhymes  Royal  are  stanzas  composed  of  seven  heroics ;  the 
first  arid  third,  the  second,  fourth,  and  fifth,  and  the  two 
last  rhyming  together. 

That  thee  is  sent,  receive  in  luxomness ; 
The  wrestling  of  this  world  asketh  a  fall ; 
Here  is  no  home,  here  is  but  wilderness ; 
Forth,  pilgrim,  forth,  0  beast  out  of  thy  stall ; 
Look  up  on  high  and  thank  thy  God  of  all ; 
Waiveth  thy  lust,  and  let  thy  ghost  thee  lead, 
And  truth  thee  shall  deliver,  't  is  no  drede. 

Ottava  Rima  is  a  stanza  of  eight  heroic  verses,  with  alter- 
nate rhymes,  except  the  last  two  verses,  which  are  successive 
rhymes. 

Because  his  love  of  justice  unto  all 

Is  such,  he  wills  his  judgment  should  devour 
All  who  have  sin,  however  great  or  small, 

But  good  he  well  remembers  to  restore. 
Nor  without  justice  holy  could  we  call 

Him  whom  I  now  require  you  to  adore. 
All  men  must  make  his  will  their  wishes  sway, 

And  quickly  and  spontaneously  obey. 

The  Ballad  Stanza  consists  of  four  iambic  verses  in  alter- 
nate rhymes,  the  odd  verses  being  tetrameters ;  the  even 
verses,  trimeters. 

Turn,  gentle  hermit  of  the  dale, 

And  guide  my  lonely  way 
To  where  yon  taper  cheers  the  vale 

With  hospitable  ray. 

This  is  the  common  meter  of  sacred  lyrics. 

The  Long  Meter  Lyric  is  composed  of  stanzas  of  four  iam- 
bic tetrameters,  with  either  successive  or  alternate  rhymes ; 


212  PROSODY. 

the  short  meter  of  four  iambic  verses,  the  first,  second,  and 
fourth  trimeters,  the  third  a  tetrameter ;  the  Halleluiah  me- 
ter, of  eight  iambic  verses,  the  first  four  of  which  are  trime- 
ters, in  alternate  rhymes,  and  the  last  four  are  dimeters,  the 
first  and  fourth  verses  being  rhymes,  and  the  second  and  third. 

The  Sonnet  consists  of  fourteen  heroics  with  interrupted 
rhymes. 

What  varying  sounds  from  yon  gray  pinnacles 

Sweep  o'er  the  ear  and  claim  the  heart's  reply ! 

Now  the  blithe  peal  of  home  festivity, 
Natal  or  nuptial,  in  full  concert  swells ; 
Now  the  brisk  chime,  or  voice  of  altered  bells, 

Speaks  the  due  hour  of  social  worship  nigh ; 

And  now  the  last  stage  of  mortality, 
The  deep,  dull  toll  with  lingering  warning  tells, 
How  much  of  human  life  those  sounds  comprise  — 

Birth,  wedded  love,  God's  service,  and  the  tomb ! 
Heard  not  in  vain,  if  thence  kind  feelings  rise, 

Such  as  befit  our  being,  free  from  gloom 
Monastic,  prayer  that  communes  with  the  skies, 

And  musings  mindful  of  the  final  doom. 

MANT. 

EXERCISES  IN  VERSIFICATION. 
Compose  in  heroics  the  following  : 

The  rose  on  Sharon's  plain  was  rich  in  bloom  when  a 
young  mother  went  up  thence  to  Zion  with  her  first-born,  for 
the  boy  was  vowed  unto  the  temple  service.  She  led  him  by 
the  hand,  and  her  silent  soul  the  while  rejoiced,  oft  as  the 
dewy  laughter  of  his  eye  met  her  'sweet  serious  glance,  to 
think  that  aught  so  pure,  so  beautiful,  was  hers  to  bring  be- 
fore her  God.  So  they  passed  on  o'er  Judah's  hills ;  and 


PROSODY.  213 

whatsoe'er  the  leaves  of  the  broad  sycamore  made  sounds  at 
noon  like  killing  rain -drops,  or  the  olive  boughs  crossed  the 
sultry  blue  of  Syria's  heaven  with  their  cool  dimness,  she 
paused  that  he  might  rest;  yet  chased  the  sleep  (hat  weighed 
down  their  dark  fringe  from  her  own  meek  eyelids  to  sit  and 
watch  the  crimson  deepening,  as  at  a  red  flower's  heart,  o'er 
his  cheek's  repose. 

Arrange  in  Balled  Stanza  the  following: 

Rest  thee  now,  fair  spirit,  calm  on  the  bosom  of  thy  God! 
His  seal  was  on  thy  brow  e'en  while  thy  footsteps  trod  with 
us.  Dust  to  its  narrow  house  beneath!  soul  to  its  place  on 
high!  They  may  no  more  fear  to  die  that  have  seen  thy 
look  in  death. 

The  following  may  be  put  into  Iambic  Tetrameters  with 
alternate  rhymes: 

0  thou,  my  darling  child,  dear  daughter,  prop  of  my  mortal 
pilgrimage,  who  hast  beguiled  care  and  pain,  and  wreathed 
my  wintry  age  with  spring !  A  second  prospect  of  life  opes 
through  thee,  when  but  to  live  is  glee;  and  jocund  joys  and 
youthful  hopes  come  through  thee  thronging  to  my  heart. 

Construct  the  following  into  a  sonnet  : 

The  hope  of  truth  day  by  day,  grows  stronger.  I  hear 
the  soul  of  man  waking  around  me,  like  a  great  sea  break- 
ing its  frozen  fetters  and  flinging  its  sunlit  spray  up  to 
heaven,  tossing  in  scornful  play  huge  continents  and  crush- 
ing them  with  din  of  grinding  thunder  that  makes  old 
emptiness  stare  in  wonder.  The  memory  of  a  glory  passed 
away  lingers  in  every  heart,  as  the  bygone  freedom  of  the 
sea  ripples  in  the  shell ;  and  new  signs  of  promise  every 
hour  tell  that  the  great  soul  shall  once  again  be  free ;  foi 


214  PROSODY. 

the  murmurs  of  inward  strife  for  truth  and  liberty  swell  high 
and  yet  more  high. 

NOTE. — The  first,  fourth,  fifth,  and  eighth;  the  second  and  third; 
the  sixth  and  seventh;  the  ninth,  eleventh,  and  thirteenth;  and  the 
tenth,  the  twelfth,  and  the  last  verses,  respectively,  are  in  rhyme,  in 
this  sonnet. 

Construct  the  following  into  Trochaic  stanzas  of  four  te- 
trameter verses,  the  even  verses  catalectic,  and  the  rhymes 
alternate : 

The  story  of  the  Roncevalles'  fight  is  sad  and  fearful ;  many 
a  gallant  knight  perished  on  those  fatal  plains  of  glory. 

There  fell  Durandarte ;  never  verse  named  a  nobler  chief- 
tain ;  before  his  lips  closed  in  silence  forever,  he  thus  ex- 
claimed : 

"  0  Montesinos,  my  cousin,  now  by  that  firm  and  dear 
friendship  which  has  lived  between  us  from  youth,  hear  my 
last  petition ! 

"  When  my  soul,  forsaking  these  limbs,  eager  seeks  a  purer 
air,  taking  the  cold  heart  from  my  breast,  give  it  to  Belerma's 
care. 

"  Say,  I  named  her  possessor  of  my  lands  with  my  dying 
breath  ;  say,  I  oped  my  lips  to  bless  her  ere  they  closed  in 
death  for  aye." 

Montesinos'  heart  was  sad  ;  he  felt  distress  rend  his  bosom. 
"  0  Durandarte,  my  cousin,  woe  is  me  to  view  thy  end  !" 

Construct  the  following  into  Trochaic  catalectic  tetrameters 
with  successive  rhymes : 

Tell  me  on  what  holy  ground  domestic  peace  may  be 
found.  Halcyon  daughter  of  the  skies,  she  flies  on  fearful 
wing  far  from  th'e  pomp  of  sceptered  state,  from  the  rebel's 
noisy  hate ;  she  dwells  in  a  cottaged  vale,  listening  to  the 
Sabbath  bells. 


PROSODY.  215 

Warrior,  that  now  breathest  at  set  of  sun  from  won  battle; 
woman,  weeping  o'er  the  lowly  slain  on  his  burial-plain ;  ye 
that  triumph,  ye  that  sigh,  kindred  by  one  holy  tie,  ye  see 
alike  heaven's  first  star ;  lift  the  heart  and  bend  the  knee. 

Construct  the  following  into  dactylic  stanzas  of  six  verses ; 
the  first  and  second,  and  the  fourth  and  fifth,  being  dimeters 
in  successive  rhymes,  and  the  third  and  sixth  verses  tetram- 
eters catalectic,  in  rhyme  : 

Blithesome  and  cumberless  bird  of  the  wilderness,  sweet 
be  thy  matin  o'er  moorland  and  lea  !  Emblem  of  happi- 
ness, thy  dwelling-place  is  blest ;  0  to  abide  with  thee  in  the 
desert. 

Thy  lay  is  wild  and  loud,  far  in  the  downy  cloud  :  love 
gives  it  energy,  love  gave  it  birth.  Where,  where  art  thou 
journeying  on  thy  dewy  wing?  Thy  lay  is  in  heaven,  thy 
love  is  on  earth. 

Musical  cherub,  soar  away,  singing,  o  'er  fell  and  fountain 
sheen,  o  'er  moor  and  green  mountain,  o  'er  the  red  streamer 
that  heralds  the  day,  over  the  dim  cloudlet,  over  the  rain- 
bow's rim. 

Then,  when  the  gloaming  comes,  thy  welcome  and  bed  of 
love,  low  in  the  heather  blooms,  will  be  sweet !  Emblem 
of  happiness,  thy  dwelling-place  is  blest.  0  to  abide  with 
thee  in  the  desert. 

Construct  the  following  into  anapestic  stanzas  of  four 
verses,  the  odd  verses  being  hypercatalectic  tetrameters  in 
rhyme,  and  the  even  verses  being  full  tetrameters,  also  in 
rhyme  : 

If  the  stock  of  our  bliss  is  vested  in  stranger  hands,  the 
fund,  ill-secured,  oft  ends  in  bankruptcy ;  but  the  heart 
issues  bills  which  are  never  protested,  when  drawn  on  the 
firm  of  wife,  children,  and  friends. 


216  PROSODY. 

The  soldiers,  whose  deeds  live  immortal  in  story,  when 
duty  sends  to  far  distant  latitudes,  would  with  transport  bar- 
ter old  ages  of  glory  for  one  happy  day  with  wife,  children, 
and  friends. 

The  day-spring  of  youth  still  unclouded  by  sorrow,  de- 
pends on  itself  alone  for  enjoyment;  but  the  twilight  of  age 
is  drear,  if  it  borrow  no  warmth  from  the  smile  of  wife, 
children,  and  friends. 

Let  the  breath  of  renown  ever  freshen  and  nourish  the 
laurel  which  bends  o'er  the  dead  favorite ;  o'er  me  wave  the 
willow,  and  long  may  it  flourish,  bedewed  with  the  tears  of 
wife,  children,  and  friends. 

Construct  the  following  into  anapestic  stanzas  of  four 
verses,  the  odd  verses  being  tetrameters  without  rhyme,  and 
the  even  verses  trimeters  in  rhyme. 

NOTE. — The  iambus  is  admissible  in  place  of  the  annpest,  particu- 
larly in  the  first  measure  of  the  verses. 

The  young  man  cried,  "  Father  William,  you  are  old  and 
life  must  be  hastening  away ;  you  are  cheerful  and  love  to 
converse  upon  death  ;  now,  I  pray,  tell  me  the  reason." 

Father  William  replied,  "  Young  man,  I  am  cheerful ;  let 
the  cause  engage  thy  attention  :  I  remembered  my  God  in 
the  days  of  my  youth,  and  he  hath  not  forgotten  my  age." 


PUNCTUATION,  217  ' 

APPENDIX  IL 

PUNCTUATION. 

§  1.  PUNCTUATION  is  the  art  of  indicating  to  the 
reader  of  discourse,  by  the  use  of  certain  characters 
called  points,  something  in  regard  to  the  nature  or  re- 
lations of  the  parts  of  a  word  or  sentence, 

§  2.  Punctuation  is  ETYMOLOGICAL,  RHETORICAL,  or  FOR 

REFERENCE. 

§  3.  In  ETYMOLOGICAL  PUNCTUATION,  points  are  used 
to  indicate  something  in  regard  to  the  formation,  use, 
or  omission  of  words  or  parts  of  words. 

§  4.  In  RHETORICAL  PUNCTUATION,  points  are  used  to 
indicate  something  in  regard  to  the  nature  or  relations 
of  the  thought. 

§  5.  In  PUNCTUATION  FOR  REFERENCE,  points  are  used 
to  refer  the  reader  to  some  note,  explanation,  or  other 
matter  in  the  margin  or  bottom  of  a  page  or  at  the  close 
of  a  chapter  or  book. 

§  6.  Etymological  points  are  used  to  indicate, 

I.  The  omission  of  a  letter  or  letters,  for  which  the 
Apostrophe  (')  is  used,  as,  JTis;  John's;  How  o'  th' 
ground  ? 

Or  in  manuscript  the  correction  of  an  error  of  omis- 

the 

sion  by  the  use  of  the  Caret  (A),  as  "  Sweet  is^breath 
of  morn." 
19 


218  PUNCTUATION. 

II.  The  separation  of  contiguous  vowels  by  the  Di~ 
seresis  (""),  as  cooperate. 

III.  The  Quantity  of  a  syllable,  or  the  long  or  short 
sound  of  a  vowel,  as  over. 

IV.  The  Accent,  whether  the  Grave  (^),  the  Acute 
('),  or  the  Circumflex  (A),  as  in  stringed,  aspect,  war. 

V.  The  union  of  simple  words  in  a  compound,  by 
the  Hyphen  (-),  as  in  sea-water,  to-day,  good-will,  co- 
ordinate. 

NOTE. — The  hyphen  is  to  be  used, 

1.  When  there  might  be  some  doubt  whether  the  word  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  compound ;  as  "  glass-house  "  as  a  com- 
pound denotes  a  house  where  glass  is  made  or  kept,  while  "  a 
glass  house  "  denotes  a  house  made  of  glass. 

2.  When  the  compound  is  not  fully  recognized  in  the  lan- 
guage as  a  single  word  ;  as  "  fortune  -telling  gypsies." 

3.  When  one  simple  ends  with  the  letter  with  which  the 
next  begins  ;   as  pre-engaged,  eel-like,  high-handed,  co-op- 
erate. 

4.  In  case  of  ambiguity,  to  show  that  the  connected  word? 
are  to   be  taken  together  ;    as,   "  eating-car ;"    "  still-hour's 
mate;"    "gray-girdled  eve;"    " stone-rocked  wagon;''    "The 
New- York  Directory ;"  which,  but  for  the  hyphen,  might  be 
confounded    with    "The    new    'York   Directory;'"     ''stone 
wagon,"  etc. 

5.  Generally,   direct  qualities  are  expressed   without  the 
hyphen  ;  while  in  expressing  more  remote  and  incidental  re- 
lations,   the    hyphen    is    required ;    as,    "  sick-bed,"    "  linen- 
draper,"  "fat-dealer,"  "wood-house."' 

VI.  The  division  of  syllables,  by  the  Hyphen,  aa 
ben-e-fit. 


PUNCTUATION.  219 

VII.  The  abbreviation  of  words,  by  the  Period  (.); 
as  long.,  N.  Y.,  Mo.,  abbreviated  for  longitude,  New 
York,  Missouri. 

§  7.  In  Rhetorical  Punctuation,  points  are  used  to  in- 
dicate either, 

1.  Separation  in  the  relations  of  the  thought ;  or, 

2.  Some  peculiarity  in  the  character  of  the  expres- 
sion. 

NOTE. — It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  design  of 
rhetorical  points  is  simply  to  indicate  to  a  silent  reader  the 
relations  or  character  of  the  thought,  or  to  indicate  the  use 
of  the  voice  by  pauses  or  intonations  to  an  audible  reader — 
to  indicate  the  meaning  simply  or  the  elocution.  It  seems  to 
be  conclusive  of  this  question  that  a  good  reader  or  speaker 
would  be  entirely  misled  if  he  were  to  govern  himself  imme- 
diately by  the  punctuation.  A  good  delivery,  for  a  single 
illustration,  is  compatible  with  a  pause  of  indefinite  length 
between  the  sujbject  and  the  verb,  where  a  correct  punctuation 
would  seldom  place  even  a  comma. 

§  8.  Of  the  first  class  of  Rhetorical  Points,  are, 
The  Period  (.); 
The  Colon  (:); 
The  Semi-colon  (;),   and, 
The  Comma  (,). 

These  points  are  commonly  known  as  the  Pauses.  They 
are  improperly  so  designated,  as  it  is  not  their  proper  use  to 
indicate  to  an  audible  reader  the  suspension  of  his  voice  in 
reading,  but  only  to  mark  the  relations  of  the  thought,  that 
the  meaning  may  be  correctly  and  readily  apprehended. 


220  PUNCTUATION. 

§  9.  The  PERIOD,  as  a  Rhetorical  Point,  indicates  a 
completed  expression  of  the  thought,  and  accordingly 
an  entire  separation  between  the  particular  thoughts. 

EXAMPLE. — There  is  no  such  prevalent  workman  as  se- 
dulity and  diligence.  A  man  would  wonder  at  the  mighty 
things  which  have  been  done  by  degrees  and  gentle  augment- 
ations. Diligence  and  moderation  are  the  best  steps  whereby 
to  climb  to  any  excellence.  Nay,  it  is  rare  if  there  be  any 
other  way. 

RULE. — The  Period  should  be  placed  at  the  close  of 
every  sentence  expressing  a  completed  thought,  unless 
the  exclamation  or  interrogation  point  is  used. 

§  10.  The  COLON  indicates  an  incomplete  expression 
of  the  thought,  but  the  widest  separation  of  the  parts. 

EXAMPLE. — In  France,  a  book  is  read  to  be  spoken  of,  and 
must,  therefore,  catch  the  spirit  of  society :  in  Germany,  it  is 
read  by  solitary  students,  who  seek  instruction  or  emotion ; 
and,  "  in  the  silence  of  retirement,  nothing  seems  more  mel- 
ancholy than  the  spirit  of  the  world." 

RULE  1. — The  colon  should  be  used  to  separate  co-or- 
dinate parts  of  an  extended  antithetic  sentence  when  no 
conjunction  is  used. 

EXAMPLES. — The  French,  the  most  cultivated  of  Latin 
nations,  inclines  to  a  classical  poetry :  the  English,  the  most 
illustrious  of  Germanic  ones,  delights  in  a  poetry  more  ro- 
mantic and  chivalrous. 

The  offices  bestowed  on  him  were  not  matters  of  grace : 
every  preferment  was  a  homage  to  his  virtue. 


PUNCTUATION.  221 

RULE  2. — The  colon  should  be  used  to  separate  the 
leading  members  of  the  sentence  when  those  members, 
or  either  of  them,  require  their  parts,  respectively,  to 
be  separated  by  the  semicolon. 

EXAMPLES. — Verms  and  Mars  inspire  love  or  valor ;  they 
give  a  noble  origin  and  a  dignified  character  to  these  senti- 
ments :  but  the  sentiments  themselves  act  according  to  the 
laws  of  our  nature ;  and  their  celestial  source  has  no  ten- 
dency to  impair  their  power  over  human  nature. 

The  personifications  here  are  frequent,  yet  not  confused ; 
bold,  yet  not  improbable  :  a  free,  elevated,  and  truly  Divine 
spirit  pervades  the  whole. 

RULE  3. — The  colon  is  required  before  quotations; 
addresses;  in  case  of  changes  of  persons  represented; 
and  before  specifications  and  enumerations,  unless  short, 
or  introduced  by  adverbials,  as,  namely,  to  wit,  etc., 
or  in  grammatical  dependence  on  what  precedes. 

1.  Quotations. — Her  affecting  exclamation  is  well  known, 
on  seeing  her  father's  portrait  for  the  first  time,  more  than 
thirty  years  after  his  death  :  "  0  my  father,  my  dear  father  !" 

And  again :  "  If  my  faith  be  anything,  I  protest,  if  I  had 
one  as  near  me  as  she  is  to  you,  I  had  rather  match  her 
with  him,  than  with  men  of  far  greater  titles." 

His  conduct  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  those  feel- 
ings and  motives  which  Mr.  Coleridge  has  so  happily  described : 

"  Stormy  pity,  and  the  cherished  lure 
Of  pomp,  and  proud  precipitance  of  soul." 

One  who  knew  him  well,  and  may  with  good  cause  love 


222  PUNCTUATION. 

him,  has  said :  "  But  for  Irving,  I  had  never  known  what  the 
communion  of  man  with  man  means." 

2.  Addresses. — Be  our  plain  answer  this :  The  throne  we 
honor  is  the  people's  choice. 

His  last  words,  they  say,  were :  "  In  life  and  in  death  I 
am  the  Lord's." 

3.  Changes  of  persons  represented. — He  may,  then,  be  sup- 
posed to  have  revealed  the  incidents  of  his  immortal  exist- 
ence to  the  associates  of  his  mortal  being,  in  some  such  terms 
as  the  following : 

One  universal  bewilderment  of  thought,  one  passing  agony, 
and  all  was  still.  I  had  emerged  from  the  confines  of  life, 
and  yet  I  lived. 

His  reasoning  runs  thus :  The  more  wealth  a  state  has 
the  better ;  for  the  more  wealth  a  state  has,  the  more  wealth 
it  will  have. 

4.  Specifications  and  Enumerations. — But  how  small  will 
that  distress  appear,  when  we  think  over  the  history  of  the 
last  forty  years :  a  war,  compared  with  which,  all  other  wars 
sink  into  insignificance ;   taxation,  such  as  the  most  heavily 
taxed  people  of  former  times  could  not  have  conceived ;  a 
debt  larger  than  all  the  public   debts  that  ever  existed  in 
the  world  added  together ;  the  food  of  the  people  studiously 
rendered  dear ;  the  currency  imponderably  debased  and  im- 
prudently destroyed. 

The  work  is  divided  into  four  parts :  on  Germany  and 
German  manners ;  on  Literature  and  the  Arts ;  on  Philoso- 
phy and  Morals ;  on  Religion  and  Enthusiasm. 

Every  man  fancies  he  can  do  three  things :  farm  a  small 
property,  drive  a  gig,  and  write  an  article  for  a  review. 


PUNCTUATION.  223 

§  11.  The  SEMICOLON  indicates  a  less  degree  of  sep- 
aration than  the  colon. 

EXAMPLE. — Its  triumphs  added  nothing  to  his  fame ;  its 
increase  added  nothing  to  his  means  of  overawing  his  ene- 
mies ;  its  great  leader  was  not  his  friend. 

RULE  1. — The  semicolon  should  be  used  to  separate 
coordinate  members  of  a  sentence,  where  there  is  no 
antithesis,  or  when  not  connected  by  a  conjunction. 

He  was  naturally  a  man  of  great  sensibility ;  he  had  been 
ill-educated  ;  his  feelings  had  been  early  exposed  to  sharp 
trials  ;  he  had  been  crossed  in  his  boyish  love  ;  he  had  been 
mortified  by  the  failure  of  his  first  literary  efforts  ;  he  was 
straitened  in  pecuniary  circumstances ;  he  was  unfortunate 
in  his  domestic  relations ;  the  public  treated  him  with  cruel 
injustice  ;  his  health  and  spirits  suffered  from  his  dissipated 
habits  of  life  ;  he  was,  on  the  whole,  an  unhappy  man. 

RULE  2. — The  semicolon  should  be  used  to  separate 
members  of  a  sentence,  when  those  members  require 
the  comma,  in  the  separation  of  their  respective  parts. 

They  bow  the  knee,  and  spit  upon  her ;  they  cry  Hail ! 
and  smite  her  on  the  cheek  ;  they  put  a  scepter  into  her 
hand,  but  it  is  a  fragile  reed ;  they  crown  her,  but  it  is  with 
thorns. 

A  people,  he  tells  us,  may  be  too  rich  ;  a  government  can 
not;  for  a  government  can  employ  its  riches  in  making  the 
people  richer. 

RULE  3. — Before  specifications  or  enumerations  intro- 
duced by  adverbials,  such  as  namely,  for  instance,  to 


224    ~  PUNCTUATION. 

wit,  and  the  like,  and  also  in  cases  of  a  loose  gram 
matical  dependence,  the  semicolon  should  be  used  in- 
stead of  the  colon. 

Lamb  also  compiled  these  very  popular  books  for  chil- 
dren ;  namely,  "  Mrs.  Leicester's  School ;"  "  Tales  from 
Shakspeare  ;"  and  the  "  Adventures  of  Ulysses." 

§  12.  The  COMMA  is  used  to  indicate  separation  in 
the  relations  of  the  thought  in  the  lowest  degree  indi- 
cated by  points. 

The  general  rule  for  the  use  of  the  comma,  accord- 
ingly, is : 

Distinct  members  of  a  sentence  should  be  separated 
by  commas  from  members  that  precede  or  follow  them. 

If,  however,  the  sentence  be  short,  and  the  separa- 
tion between  the  members  be  not  too  remote^  the  comma 
may  be  omitted. 

The  following  specific  rules,  being  applications  of  the 
general  rule  stated,  are  those  which  most  require  attention. 

RULE  1. — Long  sentences  require  commas  between 
their  several  parts,  however  nearly  related. 

The  one  has  suggested  to  me  that  beyond  and  above  all 
that  is  visible  to  man,  there  may  lie  fields  of  creation  which 
sweep  immeasurably  along,  and  carry  the  impress  of  the 
Almighty's  hand  to  the  remotest  scenes  of  the  universe. 

If  this  sentence  were  shorter,  with  the  same  relation  or 
otherwise  between  the  parts,  the  comma  might  be  dispensed 
with ;  as 

The  one  has  suggested  to  me  that  beyond  these  may  lie 


PUNCTUATION.  225 

fields  of  creation  which  sweep  immeasurably  along  and  carry 
everywhere  the  impress  of  the  Almighty's  hand. 

Examples  distributed  under  classes. 

1.  Words  or  Phrases  in  Apposition. — That  wise  and  civil 
Roman,  Julius  Agricola,  who  governed  once  here  for  Csesar, 
preferred  the  natural  wits  of  Britain,  before  the  labored  wits 
of  the  French. 

2.  Modifying  or  Explicatory  Phrases. — My  friend  Sir  Roger, 
being  a   good   churchman,  has  beautified   the  inside  of  his 
church  with  several  texts  of  his  own  choosing. 

3.  Vocatives. — Besides,  sir,  there  is  no  election. 

"  Come,  girl,"  said  he,  "hold  up  your  head, 
He  '11  be  as  good  as  we." 

4.  Parenthetical  Clauses. — If  these  fears  exist,  which  I  do 
not  believe,  they  exist  only  in  the  mind  of  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer. 

The  "  Rambler  "  is,  however,  notwithstanding  these  defects, 
a  work  that,  in  vigor  of  execution  and  comprehensiveness  of 
utility,  will  not  easily  be  paralleled. 

5.  Separation  of  dependent  Words. — A  mere  shred,  which, 
though  scattered  into  nothing,  would  leave  the  universe  of 
God  one  entire  scene  of  greatness  and  majesty. 

6.  After  connectives,  when  without  a  connective  a  semicolon 
would  be  required. — But  it  seems  this  is  an  age  of  reason, 
and  the  time  and  the  person  are  at  last  arrived  that  are  to 
dissipate  the  errors  which  have  overspread  the  past  genera- 
tions of  ignorance. 


226  PUNCTUATION. 

7.  Repetition. 

Awake,  awake,  break  through  your  vails  of  lawn. 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you. 

8.  In  a  series. — He  was  so  born  and  so  gifted  that  poetry, 
forensic  skill,  elegant  literature,  and  all  the  attainments  of 
human  genius,  were  within  his  reach. 

But,  above  all,  where  thou  findest  ignorance,  stupidity, 
brute-mindedness,  attack  it,  I  say ;  smite  wisely,  unweariedly, 
and  rest  not  while  thou  livest  and  it  lives. 

RULE  2. — Commas  are  often  required  in  elliptical 
sentences,  when  they  might  be  dispensed  with  if  the  sen- 
tence was  fully  presented. 

The  power  of  delicacy  is  chiefly  seen  in  discerning  the  true 
merit  of  a  work ;  the  power  of  correctness,  in  rejecting  false 
pretensions  to  merit. 

Among  the  ancient  critics,  Longinus  possessed  most  deli- 
cacy; Aristotle,  most  correctness. 

RULE  3. — Commas  are  required  often  when  the  ex- 
pression would  be  ambiguous  but  for  the  comma. 

In  this  case,  the  comma  is  inserted  only  when  the  more 
widely  separated  of  the  two  doubtful  thoughts  is  intended. 

Thus  denominative  clauses  do  not  require  the  comma 
which  is  required  in  explanatory  clauses,  where  the  connec- 
tion is  more  remote. 

Give  preference  always  to  flowers  that  are  fragrant  as  well 
as  beautiful. 

Behold  the  emblem  of  thy  State  in  flowers,  that  bloom 
or  die. 


PUNCTUATION.  227 

Also,  when  modifying  words  are  limited  to  only  one  of 
connected  clauses  ;  as,  The  guests  on  their  arrival  were  enthu- 
siastically greeted,  and  assigned  to  their  places  of  entertain- 
ment. 

RULE  4. — Commas  are  often  required  in  case  of  in- 
versions of  the  usual  order  of  the  sentence. 

For  the  production  of  such  a  character,  no  discipline  can 
be  so  unfit  as  that  of  the  hahitual  love  of  amusement. 

That  such  a  warm  and  ebullient  spirit  should  have  given 
way  before  the  tide  of  its  affections,  we  wonder  not. 

§  13.  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  or  RHETORICAL  PUNCTU- 
ATION. 

1.  The  Rhetorical  Points  are  guides  to  the  thought 
or  sense ;  not  to  the  pronunciation  or  delivery. 

2.  Those  which  denote  separation  are  purely  relative. 
Hence  a  short  sentence  may  require  no  point ;  if 

slightly  lengthened  may  require  a  comma ;  if  more  ex- 
tended, a  semicolon,  a  colon,  or  even  a  period. 

EXAMPLES. — The  advances  we  make  in  knowledge  arc  per- 
ceivable only  by  the  distance. 

The  advances  we  make  in  knowledge,  as  they  consist  of 
minute  steps,  are  perceivable  only  by  the  distance. 

As  we  perceive  the  shadow  to  have  moved  along  the  dial, 
but  did  not  see  it  moving ;  so  the  advances  we  make  in  knowl- 
edge, as  they  consist  of  such  minute  steps,  are  perceivable 
only  by  the  distance. 

As  we  perceive  the  shadow  to  have  moved  along  the  dial, 
but  did  not  see  it  moving ;  and  it  appears  that  the  grass  has 
grown,  though  nobody  ever  saw  it  grow :  so  the  advances  we 


-28  PUNCTUATION. 

make  in  knowledge,  as  they  consist  of  such  minute  steps,  arc 
perceivable  only  by  the  distance. 

We  perceive  the  shadow  to  have  moved  along  the  dial,  but 
did  not  see  it  moving ;  and  it  appears,  moreover,  that  the 
grass  has  grown,  though  nobody  ever  saw  it  grow.  Thus  is  it 
with  the  advances  we  make  in  knowledge :  they  consist  of  such 
minute  steps  that  they  are  perceivable  only  by  the  distance. 

Hence,  also,  if  a  conjunctive  which  tends  to  unite 
the  parts  of  the  thought,  be  introduced,  a  point  of  lower 
degree  will  be  substituted. 

The  structure  of  Tasso's  poem  was  that  of  the  Grecian  epic: 
his  heroes  were  Christian  knights. 

The  structure  of  Tasso's  poem  was  that  of  the  Grecian  epic; 
but  his  heroes  were  Christian  knights. 

While  the  structure  of  Tasso's  ptfsms  was  that  of  the  Gre- 
cian epic,  his  heroes  were  Christian  knights. 

Hence,  moreover,  if  connectives,  or  modifying  words, 
or  phrases,  respect  single  words  or  short  phrases,  points 
may  be  omitted  altogether ;  when  if  they  respect  the 
whole  sentence  or  considerable  members  of  it,  points 
will  be  required. 

Germany  had,  therefore,,  no  exclusive  possession  :  for  poetry 
and  eloquence  may,  and  in  some  measure,  must  be  national ; 
but  knowledge  is  the  common  patrimony  of  civilized  men, 
and  can  therefore  be  appropriated  by  no  people. 

EXERCISES  IN  PUNCTUATION. 
Punctuate  the  following  extracts. 

I  envy  no  quality  of  the  mind  or  intellect  in  others  but  if 
I  could  choose  what  would  be  most  delightful  and  I  believe 


PUNCTUATION.  229 

most  useful  to  me  I  should  prefer  a  firm  religious  belief  to 
every  other  blessing  for  it  makes  life  a  discipline  of  good- 
ness creates  new  hopes  when  all  earthly  hopes  vanish  and 
throws  over  the  decay  the  destruction  of  existence  the  most 
gorgeous  of  all  lights  awakens  life  even  in  death  and  from 
corruption  and  decay  calls  up  beauty  and  divinity  makes  an 
instrument  of  torture  and  of  shame  the  ladder  of  ascent  to 
paradise  and  far  above  all  combinations  of  earthly  hopes  calls 
up  the  most  delightful  visions  of  palms  and  amaranths  the 
gardens  of  the  blest  the  security  of  everlasting  joys  where 
the  sensualist  and  the  skeptic  views  only  gloom  decay  anni- 
hilation and  despair. 

The  first  cause  I  shall  mention  as  contributing  to  this  gen- 
eral effect  was  the  Reformation  which  had  just  then  taken 
place  this  event  gave  a  mighty  impulse  and  increased  activity 
to  thought  and  inquiry  and  agitated  the  inert  mass  of  accu- 
mulated prejudices  throughout  Europe  the  effect  of  the  con- 
cussion was  general  but  the  shock  was  greatest  in  this  country 
it  toppled  down  the  full-grown  intolerable  abuses  of  centuries 
at  a  blow  heaved  the  ground  from  under  the  feet  of  bigoted 
faith  and  slavish  obedience  and  the  roar  and  dashing  of  opin- 
ions loosened  from  their  accustomed  hold  might  be  heard  like 
the  voice  of  an  angry  sea  and  has  never  yet  subsided  Ger- 
many first  broke  the  spell  of  misbegotten  fear  and  gave  the 
watchword  but  England  joined  the  shout  and  echoed  it  back 
with  her  island  voice  from  her  thousand  cliffs  and  craggy 
shores  in  a  longer  and  a  louder  strain  with  that  cry  the 
genius  of  Great  Britain  rose  and  threw  down  the  gauntlet  to 
the  nations  there  was  a  mighty  fermentation  the  waters  were 
•out  public  opinion  was  in  a  state  of  projection  liberty  was 
held  out  to  all  to  think  and  speak  the  truth  men's  brains 
were  busy  their  spirits  stirring  their  hearts  full  and  their 
brains  not  idle  their  eyes  were  opened  to  expect  the  greatest 


230  PUNCTUATION. 

things  and  their  ears  burned  with  curiosity  and  zeal  to 
the  truth  that  the  truth  might  make  them  free. 

One  light  still  shone  on  him  alas  through  a  medium  more 
and  more  turbid  the  light  from  heaven  his  Bible  was  there 
wherein  must  lie  healing  for  all  sorrows  to  the  Bible  he  more 
and  more  exclusively  addressed  himself  if  it  is  the  written 
word  of  God  shall  it  not  be  the  acted  word  too  is  it  mere 
sound  then  black  printer's  ink  on  white  rag-paper  a  half 
man  could  have  passed  on  without  answering  a  whole  man 
must  answer. 

In  the  summer  of  1824  there  set  in  a  great  flood  upon 
the  town  of  Sidmouth  the  tide  rose  to  an  incredible  hight 
the  waves  rushed  in  upon  the  houses  and  everything  was 
threatened  with  destruction  in  the  midst  of  this  sublime 
storm  Dame  Partington  who  lived  upon  the  beach  was  seen 
at  the  door  of  her  house  with  mop  and  pattens  trundling 
her  mop  and  squeezing  out  the  sea  water  and  vigorously 
pushing  away  the  Atlantic  Ocean  the  Atlantic  was  roused 
Mrs.  Partington's  spirit  was  up  but  I  need  not  tell  you  that 
the  contest  was  unequal  the  Atlantic  ocean  beat  Mrs.  Par- 
tington she  was  excellent  at  a  slop  or  a  puddle  but  she  should 
not  have  meddled  with  a  tempest. 

§  14.  Rhetorical  Points,  of  the  second  class,  or  those 
which  are  used  to  indicate  some  peculiarity  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  expression,  are 

The  EXCLAMATION,  ( ! ) ; 

The  INTERROGATION,  (?); 

The  DASH,  ( — );  and, 

QUOTATION  MARKS,  ("  ")  and  (<  '). 

§  15.  The  EXCLAMATION  POINT  is  used  to  indicate 
emotion  or  passion  in  the  expression. 


PUNCTUATION.  231 

"  Alas !"  thought  she,    "  Pandora's    box   was   nothing  to 
this  !" 

Lo,  heaven's  bright  bow  is  glad  1 
Lo,  trees  and  flowers,  all  clad 
In  glory's  bloorn  ! 

How  beautiful  is  genius  when  combined  with  holiness  ! 
Woe  's  me  !  thou  liest  a  thing  of  clay  ! 

2.  The  Exclamation  Point  is  also  used  after  persons 
or  things  addressed,  when  feeling  is  expressed  or  a  long 
pause  is  required. 

And  now,  Philanthropy  !  thy  rays  divine 
Dart  round  the  globe. 

Poor  foolish  child  !  how  pleased  was  I 
When  news  of  Nelson's  victory  came  ! 

Hail,  holy  light ! 

3.  The  Exclamation  Point  is  used  still  further,  after 
imperatives  in  elevated  discourse. 

Up,  and  to  work  !     Eternity 
Must  reap  the  harvest  time  hath  sown. 

0  say  not  so  !  a  bright  old  age  is  thine, 
Calm  as  the  gentle  light  of  summer  eves, 
Ere  twilight  dim  her  dusky  mantle  weaves. 

But  they  cried,  saying,  Crucify  him  !  crucify  him  ! 

§  16.  The  Interrogation  Point  is  used  to  indicate  a 
question. 


232  PUNCTUATION. 

But  to  what,  and  to  whom,  under  Providence,  do  we  owe 
the  improvement  ?  To  any  radical  change  in  the  moral  af- 
fections of  mankind  in  general  ?  What  were  the  terms  of 
the  capitulation  ? 

RULE. — This  point  should  be  placed  after  every  question 
that  is  expressed  in  the  proper  interrogative  form,  whether 
admitting  a  directly  affirmative  or  negative  answer  or  not. 

Where,  however,  the  question  is  simply  spoken  of  as  one 
that  had  been  or  might  be  asked,  the  interrogation  point  is 
not  required. 

Can  there  be  no  sympathy  without  the  gabble  of  words  ? 
To  what  do  we  owe  the  improvement? 

Dost  thou  love  silence  deep  as  "  that  before  the  winds  were 
made  ?" 

Life  went  a-Maying 
With  Nature,  Hope,  and  Poesy, 

When  I  was  young. 
When  I  was  young  ?     Ah  woeful  when  ! 

On  some  occasion,  Mr.  Grenville  exclaimed,  "Where  is 
our  money?  where  are  our  means?  I  say  again,  where  are 
our  means  ?  where  is  'our  money  ?"  He  then  sat  down,  and 
Lord  Chatham  paced  slowly  out  of  the  house,  humming  the 
line,  "Gentle  shepherd,  tell  me  where." 

On  some  occasion,  Mr.  Grenville  had  reiterated  the  de- 
mand, where  was  the  money ; — where  were  the  means.  Lord 
Chatham  rose  and  paced  slowly  out  of  the  house,  humming 
the  line,  "Gentle  shepherd,  tell  me  where."  The  effect  was 
irresistible  and  settled  forever  on  Mr.  Grenville  the  appel- 
lation of  "  Gentle  Shepherd.' 


PUNCTUATION.  233 

§  17.  The  Dash  is  used, 

1.  To  indicate  a  suspension  or  abrupt  or  emphatic 
turn  in  the  thought ; 

2.  Before  words  or  phrases  which  express  the  same 
thought  or  object  in  other  forms  or  its  composing  ele- 
ments or  parts  ;  and, 

3.  To  mark  a  suppression  of  words  or  parts  of  words. 

1.  But  I,  when  I  come  home — 0  God, 
Wilt  thou  the  thought  forgive  ? 

Methinks  it  is  good  to  be  here ; 
If  thou  wilt,  let  us  build — but  for  whom  ? 

2.  They  are  the  first  attempts  in  a  new  science — the  phi- 
losophy of  history. 

The  German  writers  have,  in  a  higher  degree,  the  first 
requisite  for  writing — the  power  of  feeling  with  vivacity  and 
force. 

Besides  these,  there  are  two  qualities  essential  to  splendid 
success, — a  pliable  temperament,  and  that  compound  quality 
or  result  of  several  qualities,  called  tact,  in  the  management 
of  a  cause. 

3.  She  replied  that  Mrs.  Dimity,  my  Lady  's  gentle- 
woman, told  her  all  the  maids  at had  tea,  and  saw  com- 
pany of  an  afternoon. 

This  certain  prince,  whom  they  are  all  so  cautious  of  naming, 
I  take  to  be , 

§  18.  Quotation  Marks  are  used  to  indicate  that  a 
word,  a  phrase,  or  longer  portion  of  the  discourse  is  bor- 
rowed. 

20 


234  PUNCTUATION. 

The  double  points  ("  ")  are  used  in  primary  or  lead- 
ing quotations  ; 

The  single  points'  (< 5)  in  secondary  or  included  quo- 
ations. 

"  The  words  i  goodness  '  and  '  beauty,'  "  says  he,  almost  in 
the  very  words  of  Hobbes,  "  express  those  qualities  of  things 
by  which  they  contribute  to  our  pleasure." 

REMAP  K. — When  a  word  or  phrase  is,  for  any  reason,  ex- 
pressed in  italic  letters,  the  use  of  the  quotation  points  may 
be  dispensed  with. 

Did  the  Almighty  approve  those  frantic  wars  which  arro-. 
gated  to  themselves  the  name  of  holy  f 

He  rigidly  adhered  to  the  great  principle,  that  virtue  con- 
sists in  pure  intentions  and  dispositions  of  mind. 

Punctuate  the  following  passages. 

What  a  glorious  spectacle  is  that  of  the  labor  of  man  upon 
the  earth  it  includes  everything  in  it  that  is  glorious  look 
round  my  friends  and  tell  me  what  you  see  that  is  worth 
seeing  that  is  not  the  work  of  your  hands  and  of  the  hands 
of  your  fellows  the  multitude  of  all  ages  what  is  it  that  felled 
the  ancient  forests  and  cleared  vast  morasses  of  other  ages 

I  wonder  you  can  get  any  servants  to  live  with  you  thought 
the  guest  but  I  dare  say  you  do  not  get  any  one  to  stay  long 
you  do  not  however  eat  as  you  liked  it  O  yes  indeed  I  dc 
very  much  lie  the  second  she  replied  but  you  forgot  I  have 
already  eaten  a  good  dinner  lie  the  third  alas  what  had  be- 
nevolence so  called  to  answer  for  on  this  occasion 

How  grand  must  have  been  his  fiery  feelings  in  the  high 
hope  of  enterprise  bounding  over  the  ocean  and  with  new 


PUNCTUATION.  285 

worlds  opening  before  him  well  might  Spenser  call  him  the 
shepherd  of  the  ocean  he  was  not  a  poet  of  the  order  of  Spen- 
ser and  Shakspeare  but  in  what  other  gift  and  acquirement 
was  Raleigh  not  first 

Was  it  to  be  rich  that  you  grew  pale  over  the  midnight 
lamp  and  distilled  the  sweetness  from  the  Greek  and  Roman 
spring  you  have  then  mistaken  your  path  and  ill  employed 
your  industry  what  reward  have  I  then  for  all  my  labors  what 
reward  a  large  comprehensive  soul  well  purged  from  vulgar 
fears  and  perturbations  and  prejudices  able  tc  comprehend 
and  interpret  the  works  of  man  of  God 

If  we  value  then  as  who  does  not  value  our  renown  among 
mankind  €  we  exult  as  who  can  help  exulting  in  the  privi- 
leges which  the  providence  of  God  has  conferred  on  the  Brit- 
ish nation  if  we  are  thankful  and  God  forbid  we  should  be 
otherwise  for  the  means  of  usefulness  in  our  power  and  if 
we  love  as  who  does  not  love  our  native  land  its  greatness 
and  prosperity  let  us  see  that  we  each  of  us  in  his  station 
are  promoting  to  the  best  of  our  power  by  example  by  ex- 
ertion by  liberality  by  the  practice  of  Christian  justice  and 
every  virtue  the  extension  of  God's  truth  among  men  and  the 
honor  of  that  holy  name  whereby  we  are  called 

He  desired  says  Mr.  Lockhart  to  be  wheeled  through  his 
rooms  and  we  moved  him  leisurely  for  an  hour  or  more  up 
and  down  the  hall  and  the  great  library  I  have  seen  much  he 
kept  saying  but  nothing  like  my  own  house  give  me  one  turn 
more  he  was  gentle  as  an  infant  and  allowed  himself  to  be 
put  to  bed  again  the  moment  we  told  him  he  had  enough  for 
one  day  he  expressed  a  wish  that  I  should  read  to  him  and 
when  I  asked  from  what  book  he  said  need  you  ask  there  is 
but  one  I  chose  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel 


236  PUNCTUATION. 

4  19.  Points  for  Reference  are, 

The  ASTERISK  (*); 

The  OBELISK  or  DAGGER  (f); 

The  DOUBLE  OBELISK  or  DAGGER  (J); 

PARALLELS  (||); 

The  SECTION  (§),  and, 

The  PARAGRAPH 


When  necessary,  these  points  are  doubled,  as  **. 
Letters  and  figures  are  also  used  for  the  same  pur- 


CAPITAL  AND  ITALIC  LET' 


APPENDIX  III. 

CAPITAL  AND  ITALIC  LETTERS. 

FOR  the  purpose  of- displaying,  or  distinguishing  more  ef- 
fectually the  parts  of  discourse,  when  written  or  printed, 
diverse  expedients  are  adopted  by  changes  in  the  forms  or 
places  of  the  letters. 

Of  these  expedients  the  following  may  be  specified. 

1.  Change  in  the  general  shape  or  form  of  the  letter;  as, 
"  There  is  only  one  cure  for  the  evils  which  newly  acquired 
freedom  produces,  and  that  cure  is  freedom  !59 

REMARK. — This  method  of  distinction  is  effected  in  printing  by 
changing  the  "  font,"  as  it  is  technically  called. 

2.  Introducing  spaces  between  the  letters ;  as,  "  I  see  no 
other  way  for  the  preservation  of  a  decent  attention  to  pub- 
lic interest  in  the  representatives,  but  the  interposition 
of  the  body  of  the  people  itself." 

REMARK. — This  expedient  is  much  and  happily  employed  in  Ger- 
man books.  The  form  of  the  Roman  letter  does  not  favor  its  use  as 
does  the  German;  and  it  is  confined  to  printed  discourse.  The  tech- 
nical term  by  which  it  is  denoted  is  "spacing." 

3.  The  use  of  Capital,  Small  Capital,  and  Italic  Letters; 
as,  "  He  is  judged  as  a  founder  of  nations ;  great  in  action^ 
little  in  idea,  NOTHING  in  VIRTUE.     SUCH  IS  MAN  ! 

REMARK. — In  manuscript,  Capital  Letters,  except  at  the  beginning  of 
words,  are  marked  by  three  horizontal  lines  drawn  under  the  letters; 
Small  Capital  Letters,  by  two  such  lines;  and  Italic  Letters,  by  one. 


238  CAPITAL  AND  ITALIC  LETTERS. 

4.  The  use  of  Capital  Letters  at  the  beginning  of  words. 

Principles  regulating  the  use  of  these  methods  of  distinction 

1.  They  should  be  used  with  much  caution,  and  only  when 
necessary,  as  it  is  a  mark  of  weakness  or  of  bad  taste  to  mul- 
tiply them  excessively. 

2.  Italic  letters  are  often  and  properly  used  to  mark  quota- 
tions and  especially  words  from  foreign  languages,  as  in  the 
following  extracts. 

Some  members  of  the  Democratic  party  censured  the  Sec- 
retary for  dedicating  The  Prince  to  a  patron  who  bore  the 
unpopular  name  of  Medici. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  The  Feast  of  Belshazzar  has 
not  been  admirably  painted  by  others. 

He  was  promising  Mr.  Thorold  that  he  should  obtain  a 
salary  of  £200  per  annum. 

He  wrote  down  several  things,  as  memoranda,  to  do  for 
him. 

With  all  his  talent  and  all  his  pride,  it  appears  that  Swift 
exhibited,  during  this  period  of  favor,  much  of  the  ridiculous 
airs  of  a  parvenu. 

3.  Italic  letters  are  used  to  indicate  prominent  words  or 
phrases,  or  emphatic  thoughts  and  expressions. 

4.  Italic  letters  are  used  in  versions  of  the  Scriptures  to 
indicate  words  that  have  no  corresponding  expression  in  the 
original;  and  small  capital  letters  to  indicate  that  the  word 
Lord  is  the  translation  of  the  name  in  the  original,  which  is 
held  in  so  much  reverence  by  the  Jews,  and  is  often  rendered 
in  the  English  version  by  the  word,  Jehovah. 


CAPITAL  AND  ITALIC  LETTERS.  239 

5.  Capital  letters  should  be  used  at  the  beginnings  of  words 
of  the  following  classes,  viz. : 

1st.  Words  beginning  a  new  sentence ; 
2d.  Words  beginning  verses  of  poetry ; 

3d.  Words  beginning  formal  quotations ;  as,  It  is  well 
said,  "  Truth  is  great  and  will  prevail." 

4th.  Words  beginning  the  several  parts  of  an  enumerated 
series;  as.  The  Parts  of  Grammar,  1.  Orthography:  2.  Ety- 
mology; 3.  Syntax;  4.  Prosody. 

5th.  Names  of  individuals,  as  of  the  Deity,  persons,  places, 
and  personified  objects,  and  derivatives  from  them  when  re- 
taining the  individualizing  force  of  the  primitive  ; 

6th.  Titles  of  Dignity ; 

7th.  Words  of  leading  importance,  particularly  in  titles 
of  books,  or  statements  of  themes ; 

8th.  The  pronoun  I,  and  the  interjection  O. 


24:0  THEMES. 


APPENDIX  IV. 

THEMES. 
THEMES  IN  SIMPLE    NARRATION. 

I.  Personal  Experiences. 

1.  Incidents  of  my  last  vacation. 

2.  Story  of  a  day ;  of  a  week ;  of  a  year. 

3.  My  visit  to  Mount  Yernon. 

4.  What  I  saw  in  Washington. 

5.  My  journey  to  Boston. 

6.  My  passage  up  the  Lakes. 

7.  What  I  dreamed. 

8.  The  studies  I  have  pursued. 

9.  Narrative  of  my  sickness. 

10.  A  morning's  walk. 

11.  Excursion  among  the  hills. 

12.  Railway  experiences. 

13.  A  fishing  expedition. 

14.  Roamings  on  a  leisure  day. 

15.  Wanderings  in  the  forest. 

[I.     Experiences  of  Others. 

16.  Joseph  in  Egypt; 

17.  David  and  Saul ; 

18.  Daniel  in  Babylon  ; 

19.  Judith  and  Holofernes  ; 

20.  William  Tell  and  Gesslei ; 

21.  The  Burning  of  Huss ; 


THEMES,  241 

22.  The  Heroine  of  Siberia ; 

23.  The  Imprisonments  of  Sylvio  Pellico ; 

24.  Grace  Darling ; 

25.  Baron  Trenck ; 

26.  The  Treachery  of  Arnold  ; 

27.  Montezuma  and  the  Spaniards ; 

28.  John  Ledyard; 

29.  John  Law ; 

30.  Lady  Jane  Grey, 

Biographies  of,  31.  Sappho;  32.  Confucius;  33.  Socrates; 
34.  Plato ;  35.  Zenobia ;  36.  Cicero ;  37.  Seneca ;  38.  Pliny 
the  Elder;  39.  Polycarp  ;  40.  Chrysostom  ;  41.  Hypatia;  42. 
Augustin  ;  43.  Leo  the  Great ;  44.  Boethius ;  45.  Alfred  the 
Great;  46.  Abelard;  47.  Marco  Polo;  48.  Petrarch;  49. 
Wickliffe ;  50.  Chaucer;  51.  John  Huss;  52.  Columbus; 
53.  Raphael ;  54.  Cardinal  Wolsey ;  55.  Machiavel ;  56.  Sir 
Thomas  More ;  57.  Copernicus ;  58.  Martin  Luther ;  59. 
John  Calvin  ;  60.  Michael  Angelo  ;  61.  JohnKnox;  62.  Sir 
Philip  Sidney;  63.  Queen  Elizabeth;  64.  Lord  Bacon;  65. 
Sully;  66,  Galileo;  67.  Richelieu;  68.  John  Milton;  69. 
Sir  Matthew  Hale  ;  70.  Robert  Boyle ;  71.  John  Locke ; 
72.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  ;  73.  Isaac  Watts ;  74.  Lord  Boling- 
broke;  75.  John  Whitfield ;  76.  Oliver  Goldsmith  ;  77.  Sam- 
uel Johnson ;  78.  John  Wesley ;  79.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds ; 
80.  Robert  Burns;  81.  Edmund  Burke  ;  82.  William  Cow- 
per ;  83.  William  Pitt ;  84.  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan  ;  85. 
Madame  de  Stael ;  86.  Herschel ;  87.  Bishop  Heber ;  88. 
Alexander  Hamilton ;  89.  Thomas  Jefferson ;  90.  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Davy ;  91.  Robert  Hall;  92.  Cuvier ;  93.  Sir  Walte 
Scott;  94.  William  Wilberforce ;  95.  Hannah  More;  96. 
Goethe;  97.  Schiller;  98.  Herder;  99.  Richter ;  100.  Cole- 
ridge; 101.  Mrs.  Hemans;  102.  Baron  Humboldt;  103. 
Nathan  M,  Rothschild;  104,  Aaron  Burr;  105.  William 
21 


242  THEMES. 

Wordsworth;   106.  Charles  Lamb;    107.  Charlotte  Bront6 
108.  Noah  Webster;   109.  Washington  Allston. 

III.  Experiences  of  Communities. 

110.  The  Athenian  Republic. 

111.  Rhodes. 

112.  The  Knights  of  St.  John. 

113.  The  Moslems. 

114.  The  Waldenses. 

115.  The  siege  of  Malta. 

116.  The  Independence  of  Belgium. 

117.  The  Mutineers  of  the  Bounty. 

118.  The  Swiss  Confederacy. 

119.  The  Hanseatic  League. 

IV.   Occurrences  in  Nature. 

120.  The  eruptions  of  Vesuvius. 

121.  The  destruction  of  Pompeii. 

122.  The  formation  of  Icebergs. 

123.  The  advance  of  Spring. 

124.  The  progress  of  vegetation. 

125.  The  rise  of  a  storm-cloud. 

126.  The  building  of  a  bird's  nest. 

127.  The  transformations  of  insect-life. 

128.  The  circuit  of  the  winds. 

129.  The  Monsoons. 

130.  The  Trade-winds. 

131.  The  formation  of  Rain. 

132.  The  progressive  formation  of  the  Continents. 

133.  The  rise  of  Coral  Islands. 

134.  The  earthquake  at  Lisbon  in  1755. 


THEMES.  243 

V.  Imagination. 

135.  The  voyage  of  a  summer-cloud. 

136.  The  history  of  a  dew-drop. 

137.  The  diary  of  a  penny. 

138.  The  adventures  of  a  humming-bird. 

139.  The  roamings  of  a  butterfly. 

140.  The  labors  of  a  pencil. 

141.  The  journal  of  a  composition-book. 

142.  The  biography  of  a  pin. 

143.  Memories  of  a  moss-rose. 

144.  Relations  of  a  looking-glass. 

145.  Sufferings  of  a  slipper. 

146.  The  vicissitudes  of  a  hat. 

147.  The  story  of  a  bank  note. 

148.  The  confessions  of  a  hand. 

149.  The  complaints  of  my  Geometry. 

150.  The  scenes  of  my  class-room. 

151.  The  dream  of  a  Genius. 

VI.  Miscellaneous  Themes  in  Simple  Narration. 

152.  The  migrations  of  the  human  races. 

153.  The  Argonauts. 

154.  The  rise  and  spread  of  Buddhism. 

155.  The  persecutions  of  the  Christians. 

156.  The  history  of  the  Saxons. 

157.  The  Gothic  irruptions. 

158.  The  rise  of  monastic  orders. 

159.  The  Feudal  system. 

160.  The  Crusades. 

161.  The  Sicilian  Vespers. 

162.  Spanish  conquests  in  America. 

163.  The  Jesuits. 

164.  The  history  of  the  Steam  Engine. 


243  THBMBvS. 

165.  Shays'  Insurrection. 

166.  The  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

167.  The  Huguenots. 

168.  The  Russian  Campaign  of  Napoleon. 

169.  Polar  Explorations. 

170.  Recent  Explorations  in  Africa. 

171.  The  Hanseatic  Cities. 

172.  The  Republic  of-  San  Marino. 

173.  The  discovery  of  America. 

174.  The  rise  of  the  Turks. 

175.  The  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain. 

176.  The  exodus  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt. 

177.  The  Persian  invasions  of  Greece. 

178.  The  British  conquests  in  India. 

179.  The  South  American  Republics. 

180.  The  Quadruple  Alliance  of  1814. 

181.  The  Swiss  Confederacy. 

182.  The  destiny  of  the  North  American  Indians. 

183.  The  history  of  the  Calendar. 

184.  The  administration  of  Warren  Hastings  in  India. 

185.  The  wars  of  the  Roses. 

186.  The  Fronde. 

187.  The  Revolution  in  England  in  1688. 

188.  The  Revolution  in  France  in  1789. 

189.  The  destruction  of  Carthage. 

190.  The  Bank  of  England. 

191.  The  siege  of  Sebastopol. 

192.  The  Battle  of  Waterloo. 

193.  The  dismemberment  of  Poland. 

194.  The  expulsion  of  kings  from  Rome. 

195.  The  Persian  invasions  of  Greece. 

196.  The  origin  and  spread  of  British  conquests  in  India. 

197.  The  American  Revolution. 

198.  The  Peloponnesian  war. 


THEMES.  245 

199.  The  subjection  of  Greece  by  the  Romans. 

200.  The  history  of  Jerusalem. 

201.  The  French  Revolution  in  1830. 

202.  The  first  Triumvirate  in  Rome. 

203.  The  Battle  of  Lexington. 

204.  The  rise  of  the  Turks. 

205.  The  Introduction  of  Christianity  into  England. 

206.  The  Danish  Invasions  of  England. 

207.  The  Lutheran  Reformation. 

208.  The  Spanish  Inquisition. 

209.  The  Imprisonment  and  Execution  of  Mary  Stuart. 

210.  The  Settlement  of  New  England. 

211.  The  English  Commonwealth. 

212.  The  rise  of  Mohammedanism. 

213.  The  Independence  of  Modern  Greece. 

214.  The  Battle  of  the  Nile. 

215.  The  Reformation  in  England. 

216.  The  Thugs. 

217.  Mozart's  Requiem. 

218.  Magna  Charta. 

219.  The  Thirty  Years'  War. 


THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  KAAJLA4SOI* 

I.  Personal  Experiences. 

1.  History  of  a  wish. 

2.  Narrative  of  a  day-dream. 

3.  How  I  came  to  be  a  musician. 

4.  The  working  of  pride. 

5.  The  suppression  of  an  evil  habit 

6.  Disappointed  wishes. 

7.  The  indulgence  of  vain  curiosity 

8.  The  yielding  to  passion. 


246  THEMES. 

II.  Experiences  of  Others. 

9.  The  growth  of  ambition. 

10.  The  culture  of  philanthropy. 

11.  The  development  of  genius. 

12.  The  cultivation  of  memory. 

13.  The  progress  of  vice. 

14.  The  formation  of  habit. 

15.  The  improvement  of  the  memory. 

16.  The  culture  of  the  taste. 

17.  The  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

18.  The  power  of  virtue  over  vice. 

19.  The  ascendency  of  a  resolute  spirit  over  blind  im- 
pulses. 

20.  The  efficiency  of  a  pure  love  of  truth  over  moral  habits. 

21.  The  workings  of  selfishness  on  our  habitual  feelings 
toward  others. 

22.  The  deadening  force  of  vicious  indulgence  on  virtuous 
sensibility. 

( 

III.  Social  Experiences. 

23.  The  rise  of  feudalism. 

24.  The  growth  of  Grecian  art. 

25.  The  history  of  Latin  civilization. 

26.  The  spread  of  corruption  in  Rome. 

27.  The  decline  of  piety  in  the  middle  ages. 

28.  The  rise  and  fall  of  polytheism. 

29.  The  rise  of  the  mechanical  arts  in  modern  times. 

30.  The  revival  of  learning  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

31.  The  fine  arts  in  Italy. 

32.  The  Lutheran  Reformation. 

33.  The  progress  of  free  principles  in  the  world. 

34.  The  development  of  the  sentiment  of  political  justice 
in  Rome. 


THEMES.  247 

35.  The  rise  of  the  worship  of  physical  forces  in  the  East. 

36.  English  colonization. 

37.  Downfall  of  Mohammedanism. 

38.  The  growth  of  language. 

39.  The  geographical  march  of  civilization, 

VI.  Miscellaneous  Themes  in  Abstract  Narration. 

40.  The  decay  of  the  principle  of  loyalty  in  recent  times. 

41.  The  history  of  commerce  in  connection  with  political 
freedom. 

42.  The  spread  of  popular  delusions, 

43.  The  rise  of  the  papal  power. 

44.  Migration  along  lines  of  latitude, 

45.  The  spread  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation. 

46.  The   gradual   unfolding  of  the   idea  of  a  Spiritual 
Messiah  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 

47.  The  development  of  social  principles  in  the  successive 
civilizations  of  the  Old  World. 

48.  The  formation  of  the  English  language. 

49.  The  progress  of  modern  literature. 

50.  The  degradation  of  the  human  race  in  its  removal 
from  its  primitive  cradle  in  Asia. 

51.  The  progress  of  Physical  Geography. 

THEMES  IN  COMPLEX  NARRATIVE. 

1.  The  influence  of  climate  on  the  forms  and  character 
of  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

2.  The  influence  of  the  structure  of  the  American  Con- 
tinent, in  respect  to  its  mountain  chain  on  the  west  and  its 
plains  on  the  east,  on  the  climate  and  vegetation. 

3.  The  causes  of  the  deterioration  of  the  human  race  as 
it  has  removed  from  Central  Asia, 


248  THEMES. 

4.  The  influence  of  climate  on  national  character. 

5.  of  an  insular  life  on  English  character, 

6.  of  peace  on  the  arts. 

7.  of  struggles  with  adversity  on  vigor  of 

character. 

8.  The  effects  of  superstition  on  individual  character. 

9.  of  a  belief  in  destiny. 

10.  The  power  of  a  resolute  spirit. 

11.  The  influence  of  public  games  on  Greece. 

12.  The  causes  of  the  high  artistic  culture  of  the  Greeks. 

13.  The  influence  of  the  conquests  of  Alexander  on  the 
Greek  civilization. 

14.  The  indebtedness  of  Rome  to  Greece  for  philosophy 
and  learning. 

15.  The  influence  of  the  Arabs  on  European  science. 

16.  of  the  Feudal  System  ; 

17.  of  the  Crusades ; 

18.  of  Chivalry  ; 

19.  of  the  rise  of  the  Free  Cities ; 

20.  of  Commerce. 

21.  The  effects  of  emigration  in  respect  to  intelligence 
and  morality. 

22.  The  causes  of  the  peculiarities  of  American  society. 

23.  The  effects  of  an  excessive  multiplication  of  high  lit- 
erary institutions. 

24.  The  influence  of  promiscuous  reading. 

25.  The  importance  of  method  and  system  in  mental  cul- 
Aure. 

26.  The  influence  of  territorial  enlargement  on  the  spirit 
of  a  nation. 

27.  The  power  of  commerce  in  preserving  peace  between 
nations. 

28.  The  influence  of  an  expansive  currency  on  commercial 
prosperity. 


THEMES.  249 

29.  The  effect  of  discrimination  in  duties  for  the  pur- 
pose of  protection  on  manufacturing  enterprise. 

30.  The  influence  of  national  monuments. 

31.  The  effects  of  inequality  in  rank  and  condition  in  a 
republic. 

32.  The  influence  of  free  institutions  on  social  habits. 

33.  The  influence  of  literature  on  the  stability  of  a  gov- 
ernment. 

34.  The    evils    of   sudden   revolutions   in    governmental 
policy. 

35.  The  influence  of  great  national  wealth  on  morals. 

36.  The  power  of  opinion  in  a  free  government. 

37.  The  influence  of  the  press. 

38.  The  necessity  of  parties  in  free  governments. 

39.  The  evils  of  a  dependent  judiciary. 

40.  The  necessity  of  checks  on  legislative  action. 

41.  The  influence  of  constitutional  temperament  on  liter- 
ary pursuits. 

42.  The  influence  of  literature  on  national  refinement. 

43.  The  influence  of  associates  on  character. 

44.  The  influence  of  great  emergencies  on  the  formation 
of  character 

45.  The  influence  of  promiscuous  reading. 

46.  The  power  of  great  names. 

47.  The  influence  of  models  in  artistic  training. 

48.  The  influence  of  periodical  literature. 

49.  The  influence  of  authors. 

50.  Literary  old  age. 

51.  The  power  of  virtue  to  win  esteem. 

52.  The  importance  of  a  firm  self-reliance  to  success* 

53.  The  power  of  ridicule. 

54.  The  power  of  local  associations. 

55.  The  power  of  great  objects  and  scenes  to  elevate  the 
character. 


250  THEMES. 

56.  The  influence  of  works  of  fancy  and  fiction  on  a  mind 
not  familiarized  with  the  real. 

57.  The   study   of   History   as  a  means   of  intellectual 
growth. 

58.  The  effect  of  repetition. 

59.  The  importance  of  frequent  and  thorough  reviews  in 
study. 

60.  The  power  of  public  education  to  form  habits  of 
punctuality  and  order. 

61.  The  control  of  a  resolute  will  on  health  and  disease. 

62.  The  pernicious  effects  of  games  of  chance. 

63.  The  necessity  of  recreation. 

64.  The  uses  of  public  libraries. 

65.  The  influence  of  Lyceums. 

66.  The  influence  of  secret  societies. 

67.  The  influence  of  mathematical  studies  in  mental  cul- 
ture. 

68.  The  power  of  early  impressions. 

69.  The  effects  of  a  superficial  attention  to  a  great  variety 
of  pursuits. 

70.  The  influence  of  circumstances  on  character. 

71.  The  power  of  custom. 

72.  Singleness  of  purpose. 

73.  Subordination  of  aims  and  pursuits  in  life. 

74.  The  evil  effects  of  a  censorious  spirit. 

75.  The  study  of  nature  in  forming  habits  of  order. 

76.  Concentration  of  mind. 

77.  Early  culture  of  the  affections. 

78.  Free  intercourse  with  society. 

79.  Habitual  exaggeration. 

80.  National  monuments. 

81.  Love  of  fame. 

82.  The  desire  of  excellence. 

83.  A  sensitive  conscience. 


THEMES.  251 

THEMES  IN  SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION. 


The  Geographical  Features  of, 

1 .  South  America ; 

2.  Australia; 

3.  Ceylon; 

4.  St.  Helena ; 

5.  The  Antilles; 

6.  Hindoostan ; 

7.  The  plateau  of  Iran ; 

8.  The  plains  of  Siberia ; 

9.  The  desert  of  Atacama; 

10.  The  Himalaya  Mountains; 

11.  Mount  Vesuvius; 

12.  Mount  Hecla ; 

13.  The  Amazon ; 

14.  The  Hoangho ; 

15.  The  Caspian  Sea ; 

16.  Lake  Superior ; 

17.  The  vale  of  Tempo  ; 

18.  The  vale  of  Chamouni, 

19.  The  Falls  of  Niagara; 

20.  The  G-ulf-streain ; 

21.  Ancient  Athens; 

22.  Ancient  Rome ; 

23.  The  city  of  Canton ; 

24.  Ancient  Mexico ; 

25.  Moscow; 

26.  Paris; 

27.  London  ; 

28.  Venice; 

29.  Amsterdam ; 

30.  Washington. 


252  THEMES. 

31.  Describe  the  Pantheon; 

32.  The  Coliseum  ; 

33.  The  Madeleine  of  Paris ; 

34.  The  Colossus  of  Rhodes; 

35.  The  Sphynx; 

36.  The  Needle  of  Cleopatra : 

37.  Trajan's  Pillar ; 

38.  Westminster  Abbey ; 

39.  The  great  wall  of  China ; 

40.  The  fortifications  of  Paris  ; 

41.  The  Cemetery  of  Pere  la  Chaise; 

42.  The  Cedar  of  Lebanon  ; 

43.  The  Baobab ; 

44.  The  Palm-tree ; 

45.  The  Cactus  ; 

46.  The  Kangaroo ; 

47.  The  Chimpanzee ; 

48.  The  Crocodile ; 

49.  The  Gazelle; 

50.  The  Llama; 

51.  The  Armadillo ; 

52.  The  Iguana ; 

53.  The  Anaconda; 

54.  The  Sea-Lion ; 

55.  The  Bird  of  Paradise; 

56.  The  Humming-bird; 

57.  The  Aurora  Borealis ; 

58.  Twilight; 

59.  The  Solar  System; 

60.  The  Milky  Way ; 

61.  The  Seasons  :  Spring.  Summer,  Autumn,  Winter. 

62.  The  Zodiac ; 

63.  The  Telescope. 


THEMES.  253 

THEMES  IN  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 


1.  Republic. 

2.  Legislature. 

3.  Common  Law. 

4.  Political  Legitimacy. 

5.  Civil  Liberty. 

6.  Constitution. 

7.  History. 

8.  Classical  Literature. 

9.  Political  Geography. 

10.  Grecian  Civilization. 

11.  Mohammedanism. 

12.  Architecture. 

13.  Destiny. 

14.  Bigotry. 

15.  Faction. 

16.  Etiquette. 

17.  Egotism. 

18.  Detraction. 

19.  Accomplishments. 

20.  Forgiveness. 

21.  Atheism. 

22.  Candor. 

23.  Ennui. 

24.  Custom. 

25.  Vanity. 

26.  Sycophant. 

27.  Coquette. 

28.  Slander. 

29.  Goodness. 

30.  Instinct. 

31.  Fortitude. 

32.  Detraction. 


254  THEMES. 

33.  Art 

34.  Ceremony. 

35.  Fashion. 

36.  Cheerfulness. 

37.  Superstition. 

38.  Coxcomb. 

39.  Sincerity. 

40.  Satire. 

41.  Constancy. 

42.  Charity. 

43.  Genius. 

44.  Inconstancy. 

45.  Melancholy. 

46.  Novelty. 

47.  Patriotism. 

48.  Sensibility. 

49.  Gratitude. 

50.  Imagination. 

51.  Mirth. 

52.  Obstinacy. 

53.  Selfishness. 

54.  Irresolution. 

55.  Philanthropy. 

56.  Refinement. 

57.  Sarcasm. 

58.  The  German  Confederation. 

59.  The  English  Constitution. 

60.  The  Hanseatic  League. 

61.  The  Swiss  Confederacy. 

62.  The  British  Parliament. 

63.  Grecian  Civilization. 

64.  The  character  of  Solon  ; 

65.  of  Draco ; 

66.  of  Lycurgus; 


THEMES.  255 

67.  The  character  of  Socrates  ; 

68.  of  Plato ; 

69.  of  Alexander ; 

70.  of  Cicero ; 

71.  of  Brutus ; 

72.  of  Pompey ; 

73.  of  Julius  Csesar ; 

74.  of  Machiavelli; 

75.  of  Galileo ; 

76.  of  Roger  Bacon ; 

77.  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh ; 

78.  of  Lord  Bacon  ; 

79.  of  George  Herbert ; 

80.  of  Palissy  the  Potter  ; 

81.  of  Lord  Brougham  ; 

82.  of  Hugh  Miller  ; 

83.  of  Fenelon ; 

84.  of  Richelieu ; 

85.  of  Lady  Jane  Grey ; 

86.  of  Charles  Lamb  ; 

87.  of  Alexander  Hamilton  ; 

88.  of  George  Washington  ; 

89.  of  Thomas  Jefferson ; 

90.  of  Benjamin  Franklin ; 

91.  of  John  Jay ; 

92.  of  Christopher  Columbus; 

93.  of  Isabella  of  Spain ; 

94.  of  Fernando  Cortez ; 

95.  of  Madam  Guion  ; 

96.  of  Jean  Paul  Richter ; 

97.  of  Goethe ; 

98.  of  Petrarch ; 

99.  of  Michael  Angelo  ; 
100.  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  ; 


256  THEMES. 

101.  The  character  of  John  Milton ; 

102.  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale  ; 

103.  of  Lady  Montague  ; 

104.  of  Oliver  Goldsmith; 

105.  of  Samuel  Johnson  ; 

106.  of  William  Cowper ; 

107.  of  Mungo  Park; 

108.  of  Jane  Taylor  ; 

109.  of  Hannah  More ; 

110.  of  Lord  Byron; 

111.  of  Sir  Walter  Scott; 

112.  of  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge; 

113.  of  Mrs.  Hemans  ; 

114.  of  Thomas  Arnold ; 

115.  of  Sydney  Smith  ; 

116.  of  William  Wordsworth ; 

117.  of  Joanna  Baillie; 

118.  of  Thomas  De  Quincey; 

119.  of  Mozart; 

120.  of  Warren  Hastings ; 

121.  of  Madame  de  Stael; 

122.  of  Baron  Humboldt; 

123.  of  Pascal ; 

124.  of  the  Hebrew; 

125.  of  the  Ancient  G-reek ; 

126.  of  the  Ancient  Roman ; 

127.  of  the  Spartan ; 

128.  of  the  Chinese ; 

129.  of  the  American  Indian; 

130.  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  ; 

131.  of  the  Frenchman  ; 

132.  of  the  Italian. 

133.  The  man  of  impulse. 

134.  The  man  of  principle. 


THEMES.  257 

135.  The  true  Statesman, 

136.  The  philosophical  Historian. 

137.  The  Waverley  Novels. 

138.  The  Lake  Poets. 

139.  Grecian  Art. 

140.  Hindoo  Philosophy. 

141.  The  style  of  Addison. 

142.  The  poetry  of  Isaiah. 

143.  The  lyrics  of  David. 

144.  The  philosophy  of  Plato. 

145.  Neo-Platonism. 

146.  The  Aristotelian  Logic. 

147.  Habit. 

148.  Taste. 

149.  True  refinement. 

150.  Sanguine  temperament. 

151.  The  mental  culture  required  in  this  country. 

152.  Decision  of  character. 

153.  Fanaticism. 

154.  Empiricism. 

155.  Superstition. 

156.  Pantheism. 

157.  Radicalism. 

158.  Moral  sublimity. 

159.  The  heroic  character. 

160.  Hero-worship. 

THEMES  IN  ANALYSIS  BY  DIVISION. 

1.  Science. 

2.  Art. 

3.  History. 

4.  Memoirs. 

5.  Poetry. 

22 


258  THEMES. 

6.  Dramatic  Literature. 

7.  Fiction. 

8.  The  Fine  Arts. 

9.  The  orders  of  Architecture. 

10.  Languages. 

11.  Temperament. 

12.  Motives. 

13.  Natural  beauty. 

THEMES  IN  ANALYSIS  BY  PARTITION 

1.  Rhetoric. 

2.  Invention. 

3.  Poetry. 

4.  The  mineral  kingdom. 

5.  The  vegetable  kingdom. 

6.  The  animal  kingdom. 

7.  A  free  government. 

8.  Statesmanship. 

9.  A  Corinthian  column. 

10.  Liberal  education. 

11.  The  duties  of  an  American  citizen. 

12.  Wit. 

13.  Resentment. 

14.  True  greatness. 

15.  Moral  heroism. 

16.  Virtue. 

17.  Civilization. 

18.  Decision  of  character. 

THEMES  IN  EXEMPLIFICATION. 

1.  The  prodigality  of  nature. 

2.  The  calculations  of  instinct. 

3.  The  contagiousness  of  vice. 


THEMES.  259 

4.  The  triumphs  of  perseverance. 

5.  The  timidity  of  guilt. 

6.  The  self-devotion  of  parental  love. 

7.  The  consequences  of  slight  deviations  from  integrity. 

8.  The  dangers  of  procrastination. 

9.  National  prosperity  as  depending  on  morality. 

10.  The  power  of  law  in  Free  States. 

11.  The  influence  of  Christianity  on  art. 

12.  Persecution  favorable  to  free  thought. 

13.  Nothing  beneath  the  care  of  Providence. 

14.  The  ingratitude  of  Republics. 

15.  The  order  of  nature. 

16.  Magnanimity. 

17.  Female  heroism. 

18.  Prodigality. 

19.  Treachery. 

20.  Generosity. 

21.  Gratitude. 

22.  Intemperance. 

23.  Power  of  Conscience. 

24.  Early  training. 

25.  Ambition. 

26.  Parental  affection. 

27.  Christian  martyrdom. 

28.  Power  of  example. 

29.  Caprices  of  fashion. 

30.  Mutability  of  popular  favor. 

31.  Decline  of  nations. 


THEMES  IN  COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST. 

1.  North  America  and  South  America. 

2.  Europe  and  Africa. 

3.  Vegetable  life  and  animal  life. 


260  THEMES. 

4.  Electricity  and  magnetism. 

5.  Monarchy  and  aristocracy. 

6.  The    British   Parliament   and    the  Congress    of  the 
United  States. 

7.  The  Hebrew  patriarch  and  the  Scottish  chieftain. 

8.  The  Arab  and  the  American  Indian. 

9.  The  University  and  the  College. 

10.  The  ancient  Roman  and  the  modern  American  Home. 

11.  Swiss  and  Italian  scenery. 

12.  Cicero  and  Demosthenes. 

13.  Caesar  and  Alexander. 

14.  Numa  and  Lycurgus. 

15.  Washington  and  Napoleon. 

16.  Homer  and  Yirgil. 

17.  Spenser  and  Dante.  - 

18.  Johnson  and  Addison. 

19.  Scott  and  Cooper. 

20.  Thucydides  and  Herodotus. 

21.  Livy  and  Tacitus. 

22.  Goethe  and  Schiller. 

23.  Ancient  and  modern  art. 

24.  Hume  and  Macaulay. 

25.  Irving  and  Prescott. 

26.  Young  and  Cowper. 

27.  French  and  English  Drama. 

28.  The  Augustan  age  and  that  of  Queen  Anne. 

29.  The  age  of  Lorenzo  de  Medicis  and  of  Louis  XIV. 

30.  German  and  Italian  Music. 

31.  History  and  Biography. 

32.  Poetry  and  Painting. 

33.  Science  and  Art. 

34.  The  dramatic  and  the  epic. 

35.  Ancient  and  modern  training  in  eloquence. 

36.  The  fanatic  and  the  enthusiast. 


x.      THEMES.  261 

37.  The  philosopher  and  the  poet. 

38.  The  good  and  the  right. 

39.  The  true  and  the  beautiful. 

40.  Morality  and  beauty. 

41.  Realism  and  conceptualism. 

42.  Will  and  desire. 

43.  Recollection  and  imagination. 

44.  Mechanical  and  artistic  invention. 

45.  Piety  and  superstition. 

46.  Virtues  and  graces  of  character. 

47.  Space  and  time. 

48.  Reason  and  understanding. 

49.  Knowledge  and  belief. 

50.  Credulity  and  skepticism. 

51.  Mohammedan  fatalism  and  Christian  faith. 

52.  Stoic  insensibility  and  Christian  resignation. 

53.  Policy  and  principle. 

54.  Wisdom  and  prudence. 

55.  Talent  and  genius. 

56.  Instinct  and  reason. 

THEMES  FOR  CONFIRMATION. 

1.  Was  the  assassination  of  Caesar  justifiable? 

2.  Was  the  feudal  system  favorable  to  civilization  ? 

3.  Was  the  execution  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  justi- 


4.  Arc  the  moderns  inferior  to  the  ancients  in  eloquence? 

5.  Was  the  confinement  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  in  St. 
Helena  justifiable? 

6.  Was  the  execution  of  Lady  Jane  Grey  justifiable? 

7.  Were  the  Crusades  beneficial  to  society  ? 

8.  Was  Napoleon  Bonaparte  greater  in  the  field  or  in 
the  cabinet  ? 


262  THEMES. 

9.  Was  there  any  supernatural  agency  in  the  ancient 
oracles  ? 

10.  Is  there  evidence  of  a  universal  deluge  out  of  the 
Bible  ? 

11.  Is  there  more  happiness  in  the  savage  than  in  the 
civilized  state? 

12.  Was  the  execution  of  Charles  I.  justifiable  ? 

13.  Is  the  profession  of  the  Bar  beneficial  to  society? 

14.  Is  there  satisfactory  evidence  that  a  more  civilized 
race   occupied  the  American  continent  before    the  existing 
Indian  tribes? 

15.  Was  the  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  settlers  of 
New  England  justifiable  ? 

16.  Is  the  civilization  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  gen- 
erally overrated? 

17.  Was  the  treatment  of  Roger  Williams  justifiable  ?  _ 

18.  Has  Mohammedanism  been  beneficial  to  the  world  ? 

19.  Were  the  Grecian  games  beneficial? 

20.  Was  the  execution  of  Major  Andre  justifiable? 

21.  Is  there  ground  for  believing  that  the  British  Em- 
pire will  be  permanent? 

22.  Was  the  career  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  favorable  to 
civilization  ? 

23.  Would  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  be  of  advantage  to  tho 
United  States  ? 

24.  Is  the  principle  of  Patent  Rights  founded  on  wise 
policy  ? 

25.  Is  a  paper  currency  preferable  to  a  currency  exclu- 
sively metallic  ? 

26.  Ought  military  schools  to  be  encouraged  ? 

27.  Should  anonymous  publications  be  suppressed  by  law? 

28.  Should  stockholders  be  held  individually  liable  for 
the  debts  of  insolvent  corporations  ? 

29.  Is  a  national  navy  necessary  for  the  United  States  ? 


THEMES.  263 

30.  Would  it  be  expedient  to  admit  free  blacks  to  the 
right  of  suffrage  in  the  United  States  ? 

31.  Is  a  system  of  pensions  beneficial  ? 

32.  Are  monopolies  expedient? 

33.  Is  the  principle  of  protection  by  bounties,  or  discrim- 
inating duties,  politically  sound? 

34.  Are  convict  colonies  expedient  ? 

35.  Should  suffrage  be  made  universal  1^ 

36.  Is  imprisonment  for  debt  justifiable? 

37.  Is  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  compatible  with  free 
institutions  ? 

38.  Is  a  large   standing  army  expedient  in  the  United 
States  ? 

39.  Ought  the  press  to  be  legally  free  ? 

40.  Was  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico 
justifiable^ 

41.  Would  the  construction  of  a  Railroad  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific  States  by  government  means  be  expedient  ? 

42.  Ought  the  pecuniary  support  of  religious  institutions 
to  be  enforced  by  law  ? 

43.  Ought  the  power  of  pardon  to  be  intrusted  to  the 
Executive  ? 

44.  Ought  infidel  publications  to  be  suppressed  by  law  ? 

45.  Are  public  executions  salutary  to  morality? 

46.  Is  rotation  in  office  expedient? 

47.  Ought  the  previous  character  of  a  criminal  to  be  re- 
garded in  his  trial  ? 

48.  Ought  an  infidel  to  be  admitted  to  testify  in  a  court 
of  justice? 

49.  Would  the  abolishment  of  privateering  be  advanta- 
geous to  the  United  States  ? 

50.  Ought  private  property  on  the  high  seas  to  be  invi- 
olable in  war  ? 


264  THEMES. 

51.  Ought  the  Judiciary  to  be  entirely  independent  of 
the  Executive  department  ? 

52.  Is  intervention  in  the  domestic  concerns  of  another 
nation,  unless  expressly  solicited,  justifiable  ? 

53.  Is  the  doctrine  of  human  perfectibility  a  sound  one  ? 

54.  Is  infidelity  on  the  increase  ? 

55.  Are  men  of  thought  of  greater  service  to  the  world 
than  men  of  action  ? 

56.  Are  popular  lectures  beneficial  ? 

57.  Is  coal  of  greater  value  to  the  world  than  gold  ? 

58.  Is  agriculture  more  favorable  to  mental  culture  than 
the  mechanic  arts  ? 

59.  Does  the  English  language  promise  to  be  universal? 

60.  Is  it  probable   that  free  institutions  will  ultimately 
triumph  in  Europe  ? 

61.  Has  Spain  been  benefited  by  her  colonies  ? 

62.  Has  the  British  rule  in  India  been  beneficial  to  that 
country  ? 

63.  Was  the  war  between   Great  Britain  and  China  in 
1860  justifiable  ? 

64.  Were  real  miracles  wrought  by  Egyptian  magicians  ? 

65.  Can  the  prevalence  of  despotism  in  Asia  be  traced 
to  physical  causes? 

66.  Is  there  danger  of  an  aristocracy  in  the  United  States  ? 

67.  Are  internal   improvements  allowed  by  the  Ameri- 
can Constitution? 

68.  Would  the  annexation  of  the  Canadas  be  advanta- 
geous to  the  United  States  ? 

69.  Would  the  termination  of  British  sway  in  India  be 
favorable  to  India? 

70.  Is  colonization  expedient  for  France  ? 

71.  Ought  the  representative  to  be  bound  by  the  will  of 
his  constituents  ? 


THEMES.  265 

72.  t /ught  private  mails  to  be  prohibited? 

73.  Are  Bankrupt  laws  expedient? 

74.  Ought  polygamy  to  exclude  Utah  from  the  Union  ? 

75.  Should  wages  of  labor  be  regulated  by  law  ? 

76.  Are  usury  laws  expedient?    . 

77.  Should  Sunday  mails  be  allowed  ? 

78.  Ought  a  national  paper  currency  to  be  authorized  ? 

79.  Is  it  the  duty  of  the  United  States  Congress  to  estab- 
lish a  uniform  currency  ? 

80.  Is  silver  a  better  standard  of  value  than  gold? 

81.  Has  a  State  the  right  to  secede  from  the  Union  ? 

82.  Is  self-expatriation  justifiable? 

83.  Is  commerce  more  beneficial  to  a  nation  than  agri- 
culture ? 

84.  Is  a  paper  currency  sufficiently  safe   to  warrant  its 
continuance  ? 

85.  Ought  immigration  to  be  encouraged  ? 

86.  Would  a  further  extension  of  territory  be  advanta- 
geous to  the  United  States? 

87.  Are  monarchies  more  favorable  to  literature  and  the 
arts  than  republics  ?- 

88.  Is  capital  punishment  justifiable?^ 

89.  Should  all   corporal  punishment  be  abolished  from 
the  criminal  code  of  a  State  ? 

90.  Is  there  sufficient  ground  to  warrant  the  belief  that 
the  Union  of  the  American  States  will  be  perpetuated  ? 

91.  Ought  the  Executive  to  be  allowed  the  exercise  of 
the  veto  power? 

92.  Is  the  exercise  of  the  veto  power,  as  at  present  in 
the  United  States,  desirable? 

93.  Ought  unanimity  to  be  required  of  juries  ? 

94.  Are  grades  in  society  necessary? 

95.  Are  associations  for  promoting  moral  principles  ex- 
pedient ? 

23 


266  THEMES. 

96.  Is  republicanism. favorable  to  literature? 

97.  Is  there  danger  from  an  excessive  population  ? 

98.  Would  an  international  copy-right  law  be  expedient? 

99.  Would  a  universal  congress  of  nations  be  expedient? 
100.  Ought  privateering  to  be  abolished? 

x    101.  Have  savage  nations  a  full  right  to  the  soil? 

102.  Is  a  universal  language  desirable  ? 

103.  Are  populous  cities  favorable  to  the  best  interests  of 
society  ? 

104.  Is  party  spirit  beneficial? 

105.  Would  the  universal  prevalence  of  republicanism  be 
desirable  ? 

106.  Have  physical   causes  influenced   national  character 
more  than  moral  causes  ? 

107.  Are  republics  peculiarly  chargeable  with  ingratitude  ? 

108.  Ought  the  colonization  of  the  free  blacks  of  the  United 
States  in  Africa  with  their  consent  to  be  encouraged  ? 

109.  Ought  government  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the 
poor? 

110.  Would  it  be  safe  and  wise  to  leave  provision  for  the 
poor  to  private  charity  ? 

111.  Should  Peace  Societies  be  encouraged? 

112.  Is  the   influence  of  the   United  States  favorable  to 
morality  ? 

113.  Are  the  principles  of  Socialism  worthy  of  propagation  ? 

114.  Have  savages  a  right  to  the  soil  to  the  exclusion  of 
civilized  men  ? 

115.  Has  climate  more  influence  on  national  character  than 
moral  causes  ? 

116.  Ought  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  except  for  use  in  the 
arts,  to  be  prohibited  by  law  ? 

117.  Would  an   exclusively  vegetable  diet,  in    temperate 
latitudes,  be  favorable  to  health? 

118.  Is  transportation  as  a  punishment  expedient? 


THEMES.  267 

119.  Ought  Secret  Societies  to  be  encouraged. 

120.  Is  city  life  more  favorable  to   social   morality  than 
country  life  ? 

121.  Is  the  general  use  of  tobacco  sanctioned  by  a  Chris- 
tian morality  ? 

122.  Ought  street-mendicancy  to  be  tolerated  ? 

123.  Are  early  marriages  advisable  ? 

124.  Does  proselytism  favor  the  cause  of  truth? 

125.  Are  offensive  wars  ever  justifiable  ? 

126.  Is  man  a  free  agent? 

127.  Is  obligation  commensurate  with  ability  ? 

128.  Can  guilt  properly  be  charged  to  other  than  the  trans- 
gressor himself? 

129.  Is  right  founded  in  utility? 

130.  Is  lying  ever  justifiable? 

131.  Is  persecution  ever  wise  ? 

132.  Is  a  man  accountable  for  acts  done  in  a  state  of  intox- 
ication ?        Lf^>-^ 

133.  Are  games  of  chance  morally  right? 

134.  Is  the  maxim,  "  Whatever  is,  is  right,"  true  ? 

135.  Is  a  violation  of  an  oath  ever   compatible  with  mo- 
rality? 

136.  Are  the  writings  of  Lord  Byron  favorable  to  mo- 
rality? 

137.  Is  the  duelist  a  murderer? 

138.  Is  national  prosperity  favorable  to  morals? 

139.  Is  labor  a  blessing? 

140.  Is  a  man  accountable  for  his  opinions  ? 

141.  Is  the  maxim,  "Our  country,  right  or  wrong,"  ethi- 
cally sound? 

142.  Is  the  degree  of  respect  now  generally  entertained 
for  precedents  undue? 

143.  Is  public  opinion  a  safe  standard  of  right? 

144.  Does  temptation  palliate  crime  ? 


268  THEMES. 

145.  Is  marriage  between  a  Christian  and  an  Infidel  right? 

146.  Is  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence  morally  right? 

147.  Is  the  taking  of  life  in  self-defense  justifiable  ? 

148.  Is  a  high  state  of  civilization  compatible  with  a  low 
morality  ? 

149.  Has  an  innocent  convict  a  right  to  escape  from  pun- 
ishment ? 

150.  Are  lotteries  compatible  with  morality  ? 

151.  Is  poverty  more  favorable  to  character  than  riches? 

152.  Is  the  assassination  of  tyrants  ever  justifiable? 

153.  Do  real  evils  cause  more  Buffering  than  such  as  are 
imaginary  ? 

154.  Is  the  progress  of  science  unfavorable  to  a  high  ap- 
preciation of  the  fine  arts  ? 

155.  Does  the  progress  of  civilization  tend  to  repress  mil- 
itary ambition? 

156.  Is  the  progress  of  learning  favorable  to  eloquence? 

157.  Is  Milton  a  greater  poet  than  Homer? 

158.  Is  asceticism  favorable  to  religious  character  ? 

159.  Is  the  being  of  God  evinced  in  nature  ? 

160.  Can  the  immortality  of  the  soul  be  proved  from  the 
light  of  nature  ? 

161.  Is   the  multiplicity  of  religious   sects   favorable   to 
Christianity  ? 

162.  Is  a  national  Church  establishment  reconcilable  with 
the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity  ? 

163.  Are  subjects  of  political  morality  proper  themes  for 
the  pulpit? 

164.  Is  the  suppression  of  important  truth  ever  advanta- 
geous in  the  propagation  of  Christianity  ? 

165.  Ought  the   principle  of  caste   to   be   sanctioned  by 
Christian  missionaries  ? 

166.  Ought  civilization  to  be  esteemed  as  a  necessary  prep- 
aration for  Christianity  ? 


THEMES.  269 

167.  Is  any  particular  system  of  Church  polity  of  Scrip- 
tural obligation? 

168.  Is   a   national   religion    pos-sible    without   a  national 
Church  ? 

169.  Are  judicial  oaths  consistent  with  Christian  morality? 

170.  Is  forgiveness  compatible  with  pure  morality  in  a  per- 
fect government  ? 

171.  Is  religious  obedience  entitled  to  reward? 

172.  Ought  the  reading  of  the   Sacred  Scriptures  to  be 
required  by  authority  in  public  schools  ? 

173.  Ought  the  State  to  enforce  the  education  of  all  chil- 
dren within  its  jurisdiction  ? 

174.  Is  a  national  system  of  education  practicable  ? 

175.  Would  the  establishment  of  a  National  University  be 
expedient? 

176.  Is  the  prescription  of  a  uniform  course  of  study  for 
all  members  of  a  Literary  Institution  expedient  ? 

177.  Is  it  expedient  to  unite  a  compulsory  manual  labor 
system  with  a  course  of  mental  training? 

178.  Are  college  commons  beneficial  ? 

179.  Ought  Normal  Schools  to  be  established  by  the  State? 

180.  Is  the  location  of  a  Literary  Institution  in  the  coun- 
try preferable  to  one  in  the  city  ? 

181.  Is  it  wise  to  send  children  to  foreign  lands  for  edu- 
cation ? 

182.  Should  parochial  schools  be  encouraged? 

183.  Is  the  introduction  of  the  principle  of  emulation  in 
schools  expedient? 

184.  Is  the  monitorial  system  of  education  generally  prac- 
ticable ? 

185.  Ought  school  libraries  to  be  furnished  by  State  au- 
thority ? 

186.  Is  mnemotechny  serviceable  to  mental  improvement? 

187.  Are  the  planets  inhabited  ? 


270  THEMES. 

188.  Can  the  period  of  human  life  be  materially  prolonged 
by  a  general  observance  of  the  laws  of  health  ? 

189.  Has  monasticism  been  advantageous  to  science  ? 

190.  Is  the  multiplication  of  books  favorable  to  science? 

191.  Can  the  diversity  of  origin  of  the   human  race  be 
proved  ? 

192.  Is  the   discovery  of  the   electric   telegraph  of  mere 
value  than  that  of  the  magnetic  needle  ? 

193.  Is  there  valid  foundation  for  a  belief  in  ghosts  or 
specters  at  the  present  day? 

194.  Have  the  Arctic  explorations  remunerated  in  their 
contributions  to  science  and  commerce  for  the  expenditure 
of  money  and  life  they  have  involved? 

195.  Is  language  of  human  origin? 

196.  Ought  intention  to  be  taken  as  the  measure  of  crime? 

197.  Is  extensive  reading  favorable  to  the  development  of 
the  poetic  spirit? 

198.  Are  critical  reviews  beneficial  to  literature? 

199.  Is  the  pulpit  more  favorable  to  eloquence  than  the 
bar? 

200.  Are  the  fine  arts  favorable  to  morality  ? 

201.  Does  eloquence  depend  more  on  nature  than  on  art? 

202.  Is  ancient  poetry  more  sublime  than  modern  ? 

203.  Is  Christianity  favorable  to  poetry  ? 

204.  Are  fictitious  compositions  useful  ? 

205.  Is  there  a  universal  standard  of  taste  ? 

206.  Are  popular  superstitions  favorable  to  poetry? 

207.  Is  Thucydides  a  greater  historian  than  Tacitus  ? 

208    Has  the  form  of  government  any  natural  influence  on 
literature  ? 

209.  The  more  noble,  the  more  humble. 
310.  There  is  a  lion  in  the  path. 

211.  The  irritability  of  genius. 

212.  Men  of  genius  deficient  in  conversation. 


THEMES.  271 

213.  The  dependence  of  civilization  on  Christianity. 

214.  The  progress  of  right  opinions  slow. 

215.  No  man  without  influence. 

216.  The  precariousness  of  popular  favor. 

217.  The  original  unity  of  the  human  race. 

218.  Original  diversity  of  talents  in  man. 

219.  Original  equality  in  the  mental  endowments  of  the 
sexes. 

220.  Genius  has  its  weaknesses. 

221.  The  certainty  of  the  final  triumph  of  truth. 

222.  True  enjoyment  is  of  a  retired  nature. 

223.  Levity  of  manners  is  hostile  to  virtue. 

224.  Diligence  secures  success. 

225.  To  be  respected  by  others,  we  must  respect  ourselves. 

226.  Grreat  diversity  of  pursuits  fatal  to  success. 

227.  Self-reliance  the  condition  of  true  freedom. 

228.  No  one  lives  for  himself  alone. 

229.  Relaxation  necessary. 

230.  Example  better  than  precept. 

231.  Method  facilitates  execution. 

232.  Blessings  brighten  as  they  take  their  flight. 

233.  The  Christian  Sabbath  the  condition  of  a  sound  piety. 

234.  The  expediency  of  a  National  University  in  the  United 
States. 

235.  The  study  of  the  ancient  classics  essential  to  a  liberal 
education. 

236.  The  fine  arts  favorable  to  piety. 

237.  The  permanence  of  modern  free  institutions. 

238.  The  durability  of  the  union  of  the  American  States. 

239.  Plurality  of  worlds. 

240.  Models  are  necessary  to  culture. 

241.  Wisdom,  not  time,  gives  age. 

242.  GTood  intentions  can  never  justify  evil  actions. 

243.  Cleanliness  promotes  delicacy  of  mind. 


272  THEMES. 

244.  Employment  is  true  enjoyment. 

245.  Vice  brings  its  own  punishment. 

246.  A  good  cause  makes  a  stout  heart. 

247.  Little  neglect  breeds  great  mischief. 

248.  Knowledge  is  power. 

249.  A  guilty  conscience  needs  no  accuser. 

250.  An  unlawful  oath  is  better  broken  than  kept, 

251.  Constant  occupation  prevents  temptation. 

252.  Doing  nothing  is  doing  ill. 

253.  God  helps  them  who  help  themselves. 

254.  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention. 

255.  No  rose  without  a  thorn. 

256.  Prevention  is  better  than  cure. 

257.  The  path  of  virtue  is  the  path  of  peace. 

258.  Every  flow  has  its  ebb. 

259.  Fancy  flees  before  the  wind. 

260.  He  that 's  ill  to  himself  is  good  to  nobody. 

261.  He  that  seeks  motes  gets  motes. 

262.  The  wise  man  makes  a  virtue  of  necessity. 

263.  He  who  would  please  all,  will  please  none. 

264.  To  ape  a  singularity  is  proof  of  great  vulgarity. 

265.  Saying  and  doing  are  two  things. 

266.  Example  works  more  than  rule. 

267.  Self-praise  is  no  commendation. 

268.  He  who  knows  himself  best,  esteems  himself  least 

269.  He  gives  double,  who  gives  quick. 

270.  Ill  got,  ill  spent. 

271.  Opportunity  makes  the  thief. 

272.  In  union  is  strength. 

273.  To  receive  favors  is  to  sell  freedom. 

274.  The  wish  is  father  to  the  thought. 

275.  Self  do,  self  have. 

276.  Forgiveness  is  the  noblest  revenge. 

277.  Good  wine  needs  no  bush. 


THEMES.  273 

278.  Prosperity  is  a  better  test  of  virtue  than  adversity. 

279.  Envy  is  rottenness  to  the  bones. 

280.  A  fault  confessed  is  half  redressed. 

281.  A  fault  denied  is  twice  committed. 

282.  Too  too  will  in  two. 

283.  Much  ever  wants  more. 

284.  To  him  who  wills,  ways  are  seldom  wanting. 

285.  He  who  resolves  has  Grod  on  his  side. 

286.  A  little  leak  will  sink  a  great  ship. 

287.  Who  runs  fast  can  not  run  long. 

288.  There  is  a  mean  in  all  things. 

289.  There  is  a  right  way  for  every  right  deed. 

290.  Much  praise,  little  love. 

291.  Bad  manners  are  bad  morals. 

292.  As  the  sowing,  so  the  reaping. 

293.  One  man's  fault  is  another  man's  lesson. 

294.  Hastily  and  well  never  meet. 

295.  Fast  enough  if  well  enough. 

296.  Familiarity  breeds  contempt. 

297.  Dissimulation  is  short  wisdom. 

298.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness. 

299.  Labor  is  the  salt  of  life. 

300.  That  which  we  earn  is  doubly  sweet. 

301.  To  seek  honors  is  to  lose  liberty. 

302.  Politeness  is  the  true  ornament  of  virtue. 

303.  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. 

304.  Grod  shapes  the  back  to  the  burden. 

305.  What  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured. 

306.  Home  is  home,  be  it  never  so  homely. 

307.  A  friend  is  known  in  adversity. 

308.  Sweet  wine  makes  sharp  vinegar. 

309.  Necessity  knows  no  law. 

310.  Prosperity  gains  friends. 

311.  The  death  of  the  wolf  is  the  life  of  the  lamb. 


274  THEMES. 

312.  Murder  will  out.- 

313.  Fortune  favors  the  brave. 

314.  A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss. 

315.  Happiness  lies  more  in  action  than  in  possession. 

316.  The  ideal  gives  more  pleasure  than  the  real. 

317.  The  fruits  of  labor  are  sweeter  than  the  gifts  of  for- 
tune. 

318.  To  be  good  is  to  be  happy. 

319.  Guilt  hath  no  holiday. 

320.  Once  bit,  twice  shy. 

321.  Know  one  false  step  is  ne'er  retrieved. 

322.  Violets  plucked  will  never  grow  again. 

323.  Conscience  makes  cowards  of  us  all 

324.  A  good  conscience  is  better  than  a  thousand  shields. 

325.  A  contented  mind  is  a  continual  feast. 

326.  Take  care  of  the   pence,  and  the  pounds  will  take 
care  of  themselves. 

327.  Take  good  heed  will  surely  speed. 

328.  The  more  haste  the  worse  speed. 

329.  Even  the  sun  is  not  without  spots. 

330.  Every  light  must  have  some  shadow. 

331.  Every  bird  thinks  its  own  nest  best. 

332.  Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blest, 

333.  There  is  a  crook  in  every  lot. 

334.  A  stitch  in  time  saves  nine. 

335.  Ability  and  necessity  dwell  in  the  same  cabin. 

336.  Poverty  is  the  mother  of  the  arts. 

337.  Habit  is  second  nature. 

338.  A  man  is'known  by  his  companions. 

339.  Virtue  is  its  own  reward. 

340.  A  good  action  is  never  lost. 

341.  Virtue  alone  is  happiness  below. 

342.  Doing  nothing  is  doing  ill. 

343.  Well  begun  is  half  done. 


THEMES.  275 

344.  The  first  stroke  is  half  the  battle. 

345.  Many  a  smiling  face  conceals  a  broken  heart. 

346.  Seed  sown  out  of  season  never  thrives. 

347.  Trifles  make  perfection,  and  perfection  is  no  trifle. 

348.  Honesty  is  the  best  policy. 

349.  Ill-gotten  goods  seldom  prosper. 

350.  Straws  show  the  current. 

351.  Order  is  needful  for  improvement. 

352.  Order  is  Heaven's  first  law. 

353.  He  that  is  down  can  fall  no  lower. 

354.  The  cloud  which  wraps  the  present  hour, 
Serves  but  to  brighten  all  our  future  days. 

355.  All  evils  natural  are  moral  goods. 

356.  All  lay  the  load  on  the  willing  horse. 

357.  Forewarned  is  forearmed. 

358.  A  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile. 

359.  An  oak  is  not  felled  with  one  blow. 

360.  A  wager  is  a  fool's  argument. 

361.  By  others'  faults  wise  men  correct  their  own. 

362.  Charity  begins  at  home  but  does  not  end  there. 

363.  Deserve  success  and  you  shall  command  it. 

364.  Do  what  you  ought  and  come  what  can. 

365.  Every  one  puts  his  own  fault  on  the  times. 

366.  He  loseth  nothing  that  keeps  God  for  his  friend. 

367.  He  that  always  complains  is  never  pitied. 

368.  If  you  would  enjoy  the  fruit  pluck  not  the  flower. 

369.  Losers  are  always  in  the  wrong. 

370.  Man  proposes,  God  disposes. 

371.  Much  is  expected  where  much  is  given. 

372.  Nothing  impossible  to  a  willing  mind. 

373.  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day. 


276  THEMES. 

MISCELLANEOUS  THEMES. 

1.  Modern  commerce. 

2.  Mohammedanism. 

3.  The  Lutheran  Reformation. 

4.  The  War  of  the  Roses  in  England. 

5.  The  Spanish  Inquisition. 

6.  The  English  Commonwealth. 

7.  Chivalry. 

8.  The  Feudal  System. 

9.  The  progress  of  civilization  in  the  world. 

10.  The  characteristics  of  modern  European  civilization. 

11.  The  Papacy. 

12.  The  final  triumph  of  Christianity. 

13.  The  transition  from  superstition  to  skepticism. 

14.  The  spirit  of  the  age. 

15.  The  Press. 

16.  The  melancholy  of  genius. 

17.  Asceticism. 

18.  The  spirit  of  censoriousness. 

19.  Imitation  and  servility. 

20.  Genuine  politeness. 

21.  Independence  of  character. 

22.  The  enthusiasm  of  genius. 

23.  Self-praise. 

24.  Literary  friendships. 

25.  The  man  of  letters. 

26.  Sentimental  biography, 

27.  The  man  of  one  book. 

28.  Parodies. 

29.  Plagiarism. 

30.  Religious  novels. 

31.  Photography. 

32.  Instinct. 


THEMES.  277 

33.  Last  days  of  Charles  Y. 

34.  Appearances  not  to  be  trusted. 

35.  The  value  of  character. 

36.  Locomotion  without  friction. 

37.  Locomotion  without  gravity. 

38.  The  nature  of  method. 

39.  The  importance  of  order. 

40.  Idleness. 

41.  Genius  without  industry. 

42.  The  indestructibleness  of  hope  in  man. 

43.  The  danger  of  despising  an  enemy. 

44.  The  ideal  of  a  perfect  woman. 

45.  The  advantages  to  the  world  from  the  invention  of 

printing ; 

46.  from  the  mariner's  compass ; 

47.  from  the  telescope  ; 

48.  from  the  steam-engine ; 

49.  from  the  electric  telegraph. 

50.  The  danger  of  despising  little  faults  in  character. 

51.  Female  influence. 

52.  Quarrels  between  friends. 

53.  The  value  of  a  gift  lies  in  the  disposition  of  the  giver, 

54.  Riches  good  only  as  means. 

55.  Equanimity. 

56.  Excessive  care. 

57.  The  foibles  of  great  characters. 

58.  Living  for  self. 

59.  The  attractions  of  modesty. 

60.  The  necessity  of  recreation. 

61.  What  is  true  recreation? 

62.  Resist  the  beginnings  of  evil. 

63.  Popular  applause. 

64.  The  harmonies  of  nature. 
65    No  one  without  influence. 


278  THEMES. 

66.  The  meanest  member  of  society  responsible  for  his 
influence. 

67.  Christianity  the  true  philosophy. 

68.  Political  equality. 

69.  Right  of  property  in  man. 

70.  The  dress  not  the  man. 

71.  Principles,  not  men. 

72.  The  press  the  palladium  of  liberty. 

73.  Hope  of  reward  as  a  motive. 

74.  The  wise  distribution  of  time. 

75.  Filial  duty. 

76.  Maternal  constancy. 

77.  Early  rising. 

78.  Misery  and  guilt. 

79.  All  things  right  in  politics. 

80.  The  defense  of  crime  by  an  upright  lawyer. 

81.  The  study  of  history. 

82.  Emulation. 

83.  The  multiplication  of  books. 

84.  Singleness  of  aim. 

85.  Subordination  of  pursuits  in  life. 

86.  Influence  of  critical  reviews. 

87.  Manners  in  ancient  Home  and  in  London. 

88.  The  cultivation  of  letters  without  any  active  profes- 
sion. 

89.  Literature  as  a  profession. 

90.  Association  of  ideas. 

91.  The  beautiful. 

92.  The  determination  of  the  right  from  the  expedient. 

93.  The  comparative  value  of  governmental  and  popular 
patronage  to  authors. 

94.  Public  amusements. 

95.  Fashionable  watering-places. 

96.  The  sources  of  the  English  language. 


THEMES.         y  W  279 

97.  The  standard  of  criticism.        ^L     ~   J 

98.  Facts  and  principles.  ^^£lPQ 

99.  History  and  the  philosophy  of  histor^5^A?||yg.^ 

100.  The  support  of  religion  by  law. 

101.  The  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State. 

102.  Didactic  and  ethical  poetry. 

103.  Models  in  English  literature. 

104.  The  influence  of  criticism  on  originality. 

105.  The  balance  of  power  in  Europe. 

106.  The  influence  of  Roman  gladiatorial  exhibitions; 

107.  of  Spanish  bull-fights  ; 

108.  of  the  Olympic  games"; 

109.  of  modern  theatrical  exhibitions ; 

110.  of  public  examinations  in  female  semi- 

naries ; 

111.  of  College  commencements  ; 

112.  of  national  fairs; 

113.  of  national  holidays. 

114.  The  destiny  of  the  English  language. 

115.  The  causes  of  deterioration  in  the  human  form. 

116.  The  effect  of  state  currencies  in  deranging  commerce 

117.  The  progress  of  English  literature. 

118.  Popularizing  science. 

119.  Ill-health  in  professional  and  literary  men. 

120.  The  poetry  of  a  youthful  and  of  a  mature  nation. 

121.  The  grounds  of  political  security. 

122.  National  intervention. 

123.  The  narrow-mindedness  of  skepticism. 

124.  The  mental  energy  of  faith. 

125.  Universal  suffrage. 

126.  The  cultivation  of  a  proper  American  literature. 

127.  Rotation  in  office. 

128.  The  existence  of  an  open  polar  sea. 

129.  The  support  of  the  poor  by  law. 


280  THEMES. 

130.  The  moral  tendency  of  the  physical  sciences. 

131.  The  proof  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  without 
revelation. 

132.  The  confusion  of  tongues,  its  occasion  and  effects. 

133.  The  statistics  of  crime. 

134.  The  growth  of  ancient  Home. 

135.  The  use  of  ballads  in  rude  ages. 

136.  Spoken  and  written  language. 

137.  The  comparative  advantages  of  free-labor  and  slave- 
labor. 

138.  The  dependence  of  the  mind  on  the  body. 

139.  Providence  in  human  history. 

140.  The  power  of  the  individual  on  modern  society. 

141.  The  study  of  political  economy. 

142.  The  dependence  of  literature  and  art  on  patronage. 

143.  The  geological  age  of  the  world. 

144.  The  conflict  of  laws. 

145.  The  conflict  of  duties. 

146.  The  study  of  the  mathematics ; 

147.  of  the  ancient  classics ; 

148.  of  natural  science. 

149.  The  influence  of  Christianity  on  domestic  life; 

150.  on  the  elevation  and  culture  of  woman; 

151.  on  the  culture  of  the  arts; 

152.  on  law  and  political  freedom. 

153.  Conscience  as  controlled  by  custom. 

154.  Distinctions  in  society. 

155.  Self-education. 

156.  Anonymous  publications* 

157.  National  monuments. 

158.  The  infirmities  of  genius. 

159.  Lyceums. 

160.  The  power  of  the  will  over  physical  disease. 

161.  The  ingratitude  of  republics. 


THEMES.  281 

162.  The  influence  of  the  universal  diffusion  of  knowledge. 

163.  The  relations  of  imagination  and  sensibility  to  age. 

164.  Art  and  morality. 

165.  Public  opinion  as  a  criterion  of  right. 

166.  A  belief  in  immortality  as  affecting  literature  and  art. 

167.  Reform  and  reformers. 

168.  The  cultivation  of  the  senses. 

169.  A  happy  old  age. 

170.  The  influence  of  miracles  on  the  character  of  the  Jews. 

171.  The  progress  of  learning  in  periods  of  political  agita- 
tion. 

172.  Ancient  and  modern  oratory. 

173.  The  pulpit  oratory  of  France  and  England. 

174.  Commerce  and  art. 

175.  The  degeneracy  of  the  age. 

176.  Every  ideal  a  possible  reality. 

177.  Seeking  popularity. 

178.  The  love  of  truth. 

179.  Mutability  of  taste. 

180.  Early  prejudices. 

181.  Moral  sublimity. 

182.  The  duties  of  American  citizens. 

183.  The  power  of  imagination  on  happiness. 

184.  The  rewards  of  literary  labor. 

185.  The  profession  of  the  teacher ;  its  rank,  importance, 
and  rewards. 

186.  The  religious  Institutions  of  Egypt,  Greece,  and  Rome. 

187.  The  comparative  influence  of  the  study  of  the  ancient 
classics,  of  mathematics  and  mental  science  on  intellectual 
culture. 

188.  The  influence  on  the  mind  of  the  seasons,  respectively, 
spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter. 

189.  The  political  prospects  of  Europe. 

190.  The  eccentricities  of  genius. 

24 


282  THEMES. 

191.  The  benefits  resulting  from  a  high  culture  of  the  so- 
cial affections. 

192.  The  social  tendencies  in  the  United  States. 

193.  The  study  of  dreams. 

194.  Uses  of  biography. 

195.  Moral  defects  of  English  poetry. 

196.  The  code  of  honor. 

197.  A  government  of  law. 

198.  Reward  and  punishment  as  incentives  to  exertion. 

199.  Acting  from  principle  rather  than  from  impulse. 

200.  Comparative  dignity  of  the  warrior  and  statesman. 

201.  Literature  as  affected  by  the  different  forms  of  gov- 
ernment. 

202.  Reading  and  observation  in  the  study  of  human  nature. 

203.  The  mythologies  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

204.  Domestic  life  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  and 
in  this  country. 

205.  Modern  and  ancient  Greece. 

206.  Policy  and  principle. 

207.  Novel  reading. 

208.  The  love  of  truth  as  a  practical  principle. 

209.  Aiming  at  perfection  in  every  undertaking. 

210.  Firmness  in  duty. 

211.  Contentment. 

212.  The  love  of  nature. 

213.  Thoroughness  in  intellectual  attainments. 

214.  Love  of  retirement. 

215.  Conversation  as  a  means  of  intellectual  improvement. 

216.  The  influence  of  the  discovery  of  America  on  the 
intellect  of  Europe. 

217.  Tendency  to  extremes  at  the  present  day. 

218.  The  choice,  of  friends. 

219.  Persecutions  for  opinion.    . 

220.  The  limits  to  intellectual  acquisitions. 


THEMES.  283 

221.  Uses  of  the  study  of  history. 

222.  The  abuse  of  free  discussion. 

223.  The  effects  of  inequality  in  rank  and  condition  in  a 
republic. 

224.  Delicacy  of  feeling. 

225.  Conflict  of  opinion. 

226.  National  recollections. 

227.  Eagerness  for  politics  in  this  country. 

228.  The  authority  of  great  names. 

229.  The  dread  of  singularity. 

230.  Models  in  literature. 

231.  Visionary  anticipations  of  the  future. 

232.  Love  of  excitement. 

233.  Neglect  of  literature  by  professional  men. 

234.  The  desire  of  esteem. 

235.  High  aims  and  expectations. 

236.  Self-reliance. 

237.  Early  trials  in  life. 

238.  Free  intercourse  with  the  world  in  early  life. 

239.  Use  of  ridicule. 

240.  Intellectual  independence. 

241.  Sacrifice  of  principle. 

242.  Influence  of  the  study  of  poetry  on  the  intellectual 
and  moral  character. 

243.  Errors  of  genius  without  moral  principle. 

244.  Integrity  in  political  life. 

245.  National  benefactors. 

246.  Carrying  early  warmth  of  feeling  into  life. 

247.  Judicious  culture  of  the  imagination  as  a  means  of 
enjoyment  and  usefulness. 

248.  Habits  of  reverie. 

249.  Security  of  free  institutions. 

250.  Erroneous  estimates  of  greatness. 

251.  Literary  courage. 


284  THEMES. 

252.  Accomplishments/ 

253.  Memorials  of  great  actions. 

254.  Influence  of  a  spirit  of  distrust. 

255.  Generosity  of  sentiment. 

256.  Ambition  as  a  motive  to  literary  exertion. 

257.  Magic. 

258.  The  Koran. 

259.  The  Mohammedan  Religion. 

260.  Eden. 

261.  Japan. 

262.  Palestine. 

263.  Jerusalem. 

264.  The  Roman  Empire. 

265.  Oriental  customs. 

266.  Mirrors. 

267.  Knives  and  forks. 
-   268.  Newspapers. 

269.  Public  libraries. 

270.  The  ludicrous. 

271.  The  Bastile. 

272.  The  tree  of  a  thousand  uses. 

273.  Alchemy. 

274.  Excelsior. 

275.  The  poetesses  of  ancient  Greece. 

276.  Earth's  battle-fields. 

277.  The  love  of  fame. 

278.  The  standard  of  taste. 

279.  The  scholar's  aim. 

280.  Excessive  confidence. 

281.  Extravagant  expectations. 

282.  The  early  neglect  of  mental  culture. 

283.  Fashion. 

284.  The  Aurora  Borealis. 

285.  Icebergs. 


THEMES.  285 

286.  Early  impressions. 

287.  Genius. 

288.  Power  of  Conscience. 

289.  Formality. 

290.  Proselytism. 

291.  Inquisitiveness. 

292.  Perseverance. 

293.  Early  piety. 

294.  The  emptiness  of  human  greatness. 

295.  Duties  to  inferiors. 

296.  Methodical  reading. 

297.  Hasty  judgments. 

298.  The  difficulty  of  eradicating  bad  habits. 

299.  Experience,  the  school  of  wisdom. 

300.  The  study  of  discourse  as  a  means  of  culture. 

301.  The  limits  to  true  freedom  in  man. 

302.  No  one  lives  for  himself  alone. 

303.  The  power  of  association. 

304.  The  face  an  index  of  the  mind. 

305.  Science,  the  handmaid  of  religion. 

306.  Study  to  mind  your  own  business. 

307.  The  abuses  of  power  in  republics. 

308.  Spirit  of  late  European  revolutions. 

309.  Study  of  the  human  heart. 

310.  Superficial  reading. 

311.  Encouragement  to  philanthropic  effort  from  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  world. 

312.  Desire  of  change. 

313.  Culture  of  eloquence  in  the  United  States. 

314.  The  trials  of  genius. 

315.  Influence  of  moral  feeling  on  a  refined  taste. 

316.  The  moral  influence  of  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

317.  The  relative  value  of  the  sciences  of  mechanics,  chem- 
istry, and  astronomy. 


286  THEMES. 

318.  Imagination  in  the  historian. 

319.  The  comparative  value  of  the  metals,  gold,  silver,  and 
iron. 

320.  The  comparative  value  to  man  of  the  horse,  the  cow, 
and  the  sheep. 

321.  The  comparative  value  in   cultivating   the  taste  of 
poetry,  painting,  arid  music. 

322.  The  comparative  value  of  the  Church,  the  press,  and 
the  school-house,  as  elements  of  civilization. 

323.  The  rank  of  color,  shape,  and  motion,  as  forms  of 
beauty. 

324.  Are    popular    superstitions  or   enlightened   opinions 
most  favorable  to  poetry? 

325.  Is  the  literature  of  America  destined  to  receive  more 
benefit  or  detriment  from  the  mixture  of  races  on  its  soil  ? 

326.  Has  the  spirit  of  loyalty  degenerated  or  only  changed 
its  form  of  expression  in  modern  times  ? 

327.  Are  the  diversities  of  individual  character  more  attri- 
butable to  physical  or  to  moral  causes  ? 

328.  Is  the  increase  of  wealth  favorable  to  refined  moral- 
ity? 

329.  Can  more  than  two  parties  in  a  free  country  be  long 
sustained  ? 

330.  Is  the  minute  distribution  of  labor  favorable  to  social 
progress  ? 

331.  Is  the  popularity  of  a  literary  work  a  trustworthy  tes$ 
of  its  merits  ? 

332.  Is  the  world  advancing  in  morality? 

333.  Is  moral   or  physical  violence — holding  up  to  con- 
tempt or  binding  to  the  stake,  more  unchristian? 

334.  Is  the  loss  of  sight  or  of  hearing  the  greater  calam- 
ity? 

335.  Is  luxury  more  formidable  to  a  Republic  than  to  a 
Monarchy  ? 


THEMES.  287 

336.  Which  of  the  learned  professions  gives  largest  prom- 
ise of  success  ? 

337.  Is   there  more  virtue  in  the  educated  than  in  the 
illiterate  classes? 

338.  Which  of  the  arts,  architecture,  painting,  poetry,  or 
music  is  most  serviceable  to  religion  ? 

339.  Which  of  the  four  countries.  Britain,  France,  Italy, 
and  Greece,  has  most  of  interest  for  the  American  traveler  ? 

340.  Which  is  the  highest  of  the  arts :  painting,  poetry, 
or  music  ? 

341.  Is  the  history  of  civilization  best  studied  in  the  prog- 
ress of  ideas  and  sentiments  or  of  social  events  ? 

342.  Is  the  dictate  of  the  individual  conscience  of  higher 
authority  than  legislative  precept? 

343.  Does  civilization  owe  more  to  science  or  to  art  ? 

344.  Is  contemporaneous   or  posthumous  fame  more  de- 
sirable ? 

345.  Does  nature  or  man  present  the  highest  subjects  for 
poetry  or  art  ? 

346.  Is  anarchy  or  despotism  preferable  ? 

347.  Is  light  material  ? 

348.  What  is  the  true  interpretation  of  the  "  six  days  "  of 
creation  in  the  Mosaic  record  ? 

349.  Has  Greece  or  Rome  contributed  most  to  the  advance- 
ment of  civilization  ? 

350.  Have  the  physical  or  the  metaphysical  sciences  con 
tributed  most  to  human  progress  ? 

351.  Should  education  aim  to  develop  symmetrically  all 
the  faculties,  or  only  such  as  are  prominent  in  the  individual 
pupil? 

352.  Is  there  any  ground  to  suppose  that  the  term  of  hu- 
man life  will  be  materially  prolonged  ? 

353.  Is  monarchy  or  republicanism  more  favorable  to  na- 
tional strength? 


288  THEMES. 

354.  Is  the  orator  more  indebted  to  nature  or  to  art? 

355.  Not  a  single  path 

Of  thought  I  tread,  but  that  it  leads  to  God. 

356.  Desire  not  to  live  long,  but  to  live  well ; 
How  long  we  live,  not  years,  but  actions  tell. 

357.  Works  adjourned  have  many  stays ; 
Long  demurs  breed  new  delays. 

358.  Art  is  long  and  time  is  fleeting. 

359.  Time  flows  from  instants ;  and  of  these,  each  one 
Should  be  esteemed  as  if  it  were  alone. 

360.  The  dignity  of  truth  is  lost 
With  much  protesting. 

361.  Truth  needs  no  flowers  of  speech. 

362.  Error  is  fruitful,  truth  is  only  one. 

363.  Truth  crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again. 

364.  To  do  is  to  succeed. 

365.  Virtue  may  be  assailed  but  never  hurt. 

366.  Virtue  in  itself  commands  its  happiness. 

367.  All  true  glory  rests. 

All  praise,  all  safety,  and  all  happiness 
Upon  the  moral  law. 

368.  The  mind  has  a  language. 

369.  All  human  wisdom  to  divine  is  folly. 

370.  When  sorrows  come,  they  come  not  single  files, 
But  in  battalions. 

371.  The  untaught  harmony  of  spring. 

372.  Ye  stars  that  are  the  poetry  of  heaven. 

373.  'T  is  not  in  mortals  to  command  success ; 

But  we  '11  do  more,  Sempronius  :   we  '11  deserve  it. 

374.  Success  makes  fools  admired,  makes  villains  honest. 

375.  Beware  of  desperate  steps.     The  darkest  day, 
Live  till  to-morrow,  will  have  passed  away. 

376.  'T  is  Christian  science  makes  our  day. 


\ 


THEMES. 


289 


377.  The  greatest  evil  man  can  know 

Bears  no  proportion  to  the  sad  suspense. 

378.  Better  confide  and  be  deceived  a  thousand  times  by 

treacherous  foes, 

Than  once  accuse  the  innocent,  or  let  suspicion  mar 
repose. 

379.  We  pine  for  kindred  natures  to  mingle  with  our  own. 

380.  Talkers  are  no  good  doers. 

381.  Hide  not  thy  tears ;  weep  boldly  and  be  proud 
To  give  the  flowing  virtue  manly  way. 

382.  'T  is  to  thy  rules,  0  Temperance,  that  we  owe 

All  pleasures,  which  from  health  and  strength  can 
flow. 

383.  To  me  the  meanest  flower  that  blows  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears. 

384.  When  ignorance  is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise. 

385.  The  sweetest  freedom  is  an  honest  heart. 

386.  If  little  labor,  little  are  our  gains. 

387.  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever. 

388.  How  blessed  the  farmer's  simple  life, 

389.  The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man. 

390.  The  mind  does  shape  itself  to  its  own  wants 
And  can  bear  all  things. 

391.  He  that  may  hinder  mischief, 
And  yet  permits  it,  is  an  accessory. 

392.  He  jests  at  scars  that  never  felt  a  wound. 

393.  Merit  was  ever  modest  known. 

394.  In  contemplation  of  created  things 
By  steps  we  may  ascend  to  God. 

395.  Passion  when  deep,  is  still. 

396.  There  's  no  such  word  as  fail. 

397.  Praise  is  but  virtue's  shadow. 

398.  The  rainbow  dies  in  heaven  and  not  on  earth. 

399.  Faults  are  easier  looked  in  than  redressed. 
25 


290  THEMES. 

400.  0  reputation  !  de'arer  far  than  life. 

401.  All  things  decay  with  time. 

402.  Slander  meets  no  regard  from  noble  minds. 

403.  Solitude  is  sometimes  best  society. 

404.  Fortune  's  an  under  power,  that  is  herself 
Commanded  by  desert. 

405.  Goodness  is  beauty  in  its  best  estate. 

406.  The  soul 

Is  strong  that  trusts  in  goodness,  and  shows  clearly 
It  may  be  trusted. 

407.  Man  should  dare  all  things  that  he  knows  are  right 

408.  He  that  hath  nature  in  him,  must  be  grateful. 

409.  Half  of  the  ills  we  hoard  within  our  hearts, 
Are  ills  because  we  hoard  them. 

410.  God  hath  yoked  to  guilt 
Her  pale  tormentor — misery. 

411.  He  that  acts  unjustly, 

Is  the  worst  rebel  to  himself. 

412.  All  the  good  we  have  rests  in  the  mind. 

413.  Joy  flies  monopolists;  it  calls  for  two. 

414.  True  happiness,  if  understood, 
Consists  alone  in  doing  good. 

415.  An  honest  man  's  the  noblest  work  of  God. 

416.  When  the  heart  is  light 

With  hope,  all  pleases  :  nothing  comes  amiss. 

417.  Humility  is  eldest-born  of  virtue. 

418.  Enjoyment  stops  where  indolence  begins. 

419.  Death  is  the  crown  of  life. 

420.  0  what  a  tangled  web  we  weave, 
When  first  we  practice  to  deceive. 

421.  Good  is  best  when  soonest  wrought. 

422.  Tide  and  wind  stay  no  man's  pleasure!. 

423.  Procrastination  is  the  thief  of  time. 

424.  True  dignity  is  never  gained  by  place. 


THEMES.  291 

425.  Who  never  doubted,  never  half  believed. 

426.  We  dream  what  is  about  to  happen. 

427.  What  is  beyond  the  mean  is  ever  ill. 

428.  None  but  cowards  lie. 

429.  A  life  of  honor  and  of  worth 
Has  no  eternity  on  earth. 

430.  The  child  is  father  of  the  man. 

431.  Trust  reposed  in  noble  natures 
Obliges  them  the  more. 

432.  Minds 

By  nature  great,  are  conscious  of  their  greatness, 
And  hold  it  mean  to  borrow  aught  from  flattery. 

433.  'T  is  easier  for  the  generous  to  forgive, 
Than  for  offense  to  ask  it. 

434.  They  who  forgive  most  shall  be  most  forgiven. 

435.  Virtue  is  bold,  and  goodness  never  fearful. 

436.  The  good  are  better  made  by  ill, 
As  odors  crushed  are  sweeter  still. 

437.  Who  soars  too  near  the  sun,  with  golden  wings, 
Melts  them. 

438.  Virtue  alone  is  true  nobility. 

439.  Times  of  joy  and  times  of  woe, 
Each  an  angel -presence  know. 

440.  Appearances  deceive. 

441.  Men  are  not  what  they  seem. 

442.  Truth  dwells  not  in  the  clouds. 

443.  For  obstinacy  's  ne'er  so  stiff, 
As  when  't  is  in  a  wrong  belief. 

444.  Brevity  is  the  soul  of  wit. 

445.  Calamity  is  man's  true  touchstone. 

446.  Cheerful  looks  make  every  dish  a  feast. 

447.  Slow  pass  our  days  in  childhood. 

448.  To  choose  is  to  create. 

449    Nothing  is  constant  but  a  virtuous  mind. 


292  THEMES. 

450.  Contentment  gives  a  crown, 
Where  fortune  hath  denied  it. 

451.  The  intent  and  not  the  deed 

Is  in  our  power;  and,  therefore,  who  dares  greatly, 
Does  greatly. 

452.  True  wit  is  nature  to  advantage  dressed. 

453.  Wisdom  is  rare  ;  wit  abounds. 

454.  A  woman's  will 

Ts  not  so  strong  in  anger  as  her  skill. 

455.  In  this  grand  wheel,  the  world,  we  're  spokes  made  all. 

456.  I  ne'er  respect  the  ready  tongue 
That  augurs  sorrow  to  the  young. 

457.  Zeal  and  duty  are  not  slow, 
But  on  occasion's  forelock  watchful  wait. 

458.  What  most  we  wish,  with  ease  we  fancy  near. 

459.  Oft  from  apparent  ill  "our  blessings  rise. 

460.  At  every  trifle  scorn  to  take  offense. 

461.  Never  too  old  to  learn. 

462.  'T  is  providence  alone  secures, 

In  every  change,  both  mine  and  yours. 

463.  0  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us 
To  see  oursels  as  others  see  us. 

464.  High  worth  is  elevated  place. 

465.  Means  have  no  merit,  if  one  end  amiss. 

466.  Hearts  are  proprietors  of  all  applause. 

467.  Right  ends  and  means  make  wisdom. 

468.  Each  man  builds  himself. 

469.  All  men  are  about  to  live. 

470.  All  promise  is  poor  dilatory  man. 

471.  Our  hearts  ne'er  bow  but  to  superior  worth. 

472.  All  men  think  all  men  mortal  but  themselves. 

473.  There  is  no  vice  so  simple,  but  assumes 
Some  mark  of  virtue  on  its  outward  parts. 

474.  Mornings  are  mysteries. 


THEMES.  293 

475.  Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity. 

476.  Wisdom  and  goodness  to  the  vile,  seem  vile. 

477.  Virtue  is  beauty. 

478.  There  's  no  blemish  but  the  mind. 

479.  Fie  upon  but  yet. 

480.  Conceit  in  weakest  bodies  strongest  works. 

481.  What  stronger  breastplate  than  a  heart  untainted? 

482.  Our  content  is  our  best  having. 

483.  Things  out  of  hope  are  compassed  oft  with  venturing. 

484.  How  oft  the  sight  of  means  to  do  ill  deeds 
Makes  ill  deeds  done. 

485.  The  hand  of  little  employment  hath  the  daintier  sense. 

486.  For  'tis  the  mind  that  makes  the  body  rich. 

487.  I  have  immortal  longings  in  me. 

488.  Silence  is  the  perfectest  herald  of  joy. 

489.  Surfeit  is  the  father  of  much  fast. 

490.  Men's  evil   manners  live  in  brass  ;  their  virtues  we 
write  in  water. 

491.  Men,  at  some  times,  are  masters  of  their  fates. 

492.  Our  thoughts  are  ours,  their  ends  none  of  our  own. 

493.  Angels  are  bright  still,  though  the  brightest  fell. 

494.  Grief  softens  the  mind. 

495.  Care  is  no  cure,  but  rather  corrosive, 
For  things  that  are  not  to  be  remedied. 

496.  What 's  gone,  and  what 's  past  help, 
Should  be  past  grief. 

497.  Guiltiness  will  speak, 
Though  tongues  were  out  of  use. 

498.  What  win  the  guilty,  winning  what  they  seek  ? 

499.  A  light  heart  lives  long. 

500.  The  forgeries  of  jealousy. 

501.  Much  virtue  in  if. 

502.  Ingratitude  is  monstrous. 

503.  Unstained  thoughts  do  seldom  dream  of  evil. 


294  THEMES. 

504.  That  we  would  do 
We  should  do  when  we  would. 

505.  The  web  of  our  life  is  of  a  mingled  yarn. 

506.  This  world  's  not  for  aye. 

507.  It  is  a  great  sin,  to  swear  unto  a  sin, 
But  greater  sin  to  keep  a  sinful  oath. 

508.  Words  are  no  deeds. 

509.  Suspicion  always  haunts  the  guilty  mind. 

510.  Companionship  in  woe,  doth  woe  assuage. 

511.  Virtue  is  bold,  and  goodness  never  fearful. 

512.  We  are  bona  to  do  benefits. 

513.  Ill  blows  the  wind  that  profits  nobody. 

514.  By  nature's  law,  what  may  be,  may  be  now. 

515.  How  many  things  by  season  seasoned  are 
To  their  right  praise  and  true  affection. 

516.  Life's  cares  are  comforts. 

517.  Time  destroyed  is  suicide. 

518.  'T  is  greatly  wise  to  talk  with  our  past  hours 

519.  Vain  is  the  world,  but  only  to  the  vain. 

520.  Nature  is  Christian. 

521.  Reason  pursued  is  faith. 

522.  Fondness  for  fame  is  avarice  of  air. 

523.  All  should  be  prophets  to  themselves, 

524.  A  blaze  betokens  brevity  of  life. 


SIMPLIFIED    EXERCISES  AND    EXPLANATIONS.        295 


APPENDIX  V. 

SIMPLIFIED    EXERCISES    AND    EXPLANATIONS. 

FOR  the  purpose  of  introducing  less  developed  minds 
more  easily  into  the  art  of  composing  discourse,  the  follow- 
ing more  simple  exercises,  in  the  form  of  faulty  plans  to  be 
corrected,  with  models  of  corrections,  are  added  here.  These 
exercises  may  be  greatly  varied  and  extended,  as  well  as  more 
perfectly  adapted  to  the  mental  condition  of  the  pupil,  either 
by  the  teacher  or  by  the  pupil.  The  teacher  may  prescribe 
themes  or  exercises,  or  the  pupil  may  be  left  freely  to  select 
for  himself. 

There  are  added  some  models  of  exercises  designed  to 
show  in  what  different  ways  the  same  theme  will  be  de- 
veloped under  the  application  of  the  different  processes.  It 
is  proper  to  say  that  the  models  given  were  originally  pre- 
sented in  class-exercises  on  those  themes,  and,  of  course, 
without  reference  to  the  use  now  made  of  them. 

SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

Faulty  Plans  to  be  Corrected. 

I.  THEME. — Second  Stage  of  Christiana's  Pilgrimage. 

1.  Christiana  and  her  companions  came  to  the  house  of 
the  Interpreter. 

2.  On  their  way,  the  boys  are  tempted  to  pluck  some 
fruit. 

3.  The  fruit  belonged  to  the  enemy,  which  if  they  had 
known  the  fact,  would  have  greatly  alarmed  them. 


296       SIMPLIFIED   EXERCISES    AND   EXPLANATIONS. 

4.  But  they  passed  on  undisturbed. 

5.  The  Interpreter  takes  them  to  the  Significant  Rooms, 
where  they  learn  many  good  lessons. 

6.  They  were  assailed  on   their  way  by  two  ill-favored 
persons. 

7.  Eeliever  comes  to  their  rescue. 

8.  They   learn  from  this  to  seek  a  protection   on  their 
journey. 

9.  After  supper  and  profitable  conversation  with  the  In- 
terpreter, they  retire  for  sleep. 

10.  Christian  had  been  entertained  at  the  same  house  in 
his  pilgrimage. 

In  correcting  this  plan,  it  will  appear  that  the  last  of 
these  items,  No.  10,  introduces  another  subject.  It  must 
be  left  out,  or  brought  in  only  incidentally.  Then,  the  items 
2,  3,  and  4  belong  together,  and  should  appear  under  one 
head.  The  fourth  is  not  wisely  selected  as  a  leading  point 
in  the  narrative.  For  the  same  reason,  Nos.  6  and  7,  and  8, 
should  appear  as  one.  Still  further,  the  order  of  time  is 
not  observed.  The  plan  corrected  would  appear  thus : 

MODEL  OF  CORRECTION. 

1.  Christiana's  boys  pluck  fruit  belonging  to  an  enemy, 
putting  them  in  peril,  which,  however,  they  escape. 

2.  The  pilgrims  are  assailed,  but  delivered  by  a  Reliever^ 
which  admonishes  them  to  procure  a  guide  and  protector. 

3.  They  reach  the  Interpreter's  house,  where  they  visit, 
before  sleep,  the  Significant  Rooms. 

II.  THEME. — Robinson  Crtisoe's  Early  Life. 

1.  Born  in  York,  in  1632. 

2.  Went  to  Hull  and  took  ship  for  London,  September 
1st,  1651. 


SIMPLIFIED   EXERCISES   AND   EXPLANATIONS.       297 

3.  Requested  his  mother   nearly  a  year  before  this,  to 
ask  his  father's  permission  to  go  abroad. 

4.  His  mother  passionately  refused. 

5.  Having   been  brought  up  to  no  trade,  his  head  was 
filled  with  rambling  thoughts. 

6.  He  was  well  educated  by  his  father. 

7.  His  father  earnestly  warned  him  of  the  dangers  of  a 
roaming  life. 

8.  Their  counsels  made  a  strong  impression  at  the  time, 
but  soon  were  forgotten. 

9.  When  at  Hull,  he  was  tempted  by  a  comrade  to  ship 
for  London,  having  been  promised  that  he  should  be  carried 
free  of  charge. 

10.  He  went  off  without  taking  leave  of  his  parents. 

III.  THEME. — Grace  Darling. 

1.  Horn  at  Bamborough,  Nov.  24,  1815.    . 

2.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  light-house  keeper. 

3.  Many  shipwrecks  have  occurred  off  this  coast. 

4.  In  1782,  a  large  brig  was  dashed  to  pieces. 

5.  In  1823,  four  vessels  were  wrecked  in  a  single  gale. 

6.  When  Grace  was  twenty -two  years  old,   the  steamer 
Forfarshire  was  driven  upon  the  breakers,  and  broken  in  two. 

7.  Nine  of  the  passengers  and  crew  clung  to  a  part  of 
the  wreck  that  was  held  upon  the  breakers. 

8.  They  were  descried  by  Grace  and  her  parents  at  day- 
break. 

9.  They  three  were  the  only  persons  in  the  light-house. 

10.  They  undertook,  notwithstanding  the  terrific  surging 
of  the  sea,  to  rescue  the  sufferers. 

11.  Grace  had  never  before  aided  in  propelling  the  boat. 

12.  Her  father  was  unwilling  to  make  the  perilous  attempt. 

13.  Grace  prevailed  over  his  fears. 

14.  All  the  nine  were  saved. 


298        SIMPLIFIED   EXEECISES    AND    EXPLANATIONS. 

IV.  THEME.— King  Philip's  War. 

1.  In    this  war,   which  was  carried  on   with   the    most 
savage  atrocity  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  more  than  six 
hundred  houses  were  burned,  and  as  many  colonists  perished 
in  the  field. 

2.  The   Indians   lost  a   thousand   men   at   one  time,   in 
Rhode  Island,  in  1675,  and  two  or  three  times  that  number 
in  1676. 

3.  Philip  was  the  son  of  Massasoit,  and  became  chief  of 
his  tribe,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1662. 

4.  He  was  with  reluctance  drawn  into  the  contest  with 
the  colonists,  by  the  ardor  of  young  men  in  his  tribe. 

5.  He  influenced    the  Indian   tribes   generally  to   unite 
with  him  in  the  war. 

6.  He  was  at  last  killed  by  a  faithless  Indian. 

7.  Philip's  death  brought  the  war  to  an  end. 

8.  The  occasion  of  the  war  was  the  trial  and  execution 
by  the  whites,  of  three  Indians,  for  murdering  a  missionary. 

9.  In  this  war,  Deerfield  was  burned ;  Brookfield  set  on 
fire  ;  a  company  of  young  men  were  massacred  at  Bloody 
Brook;  and  the  whole  country  kept  in  alarm  and  anxiety. 

ABSTRACT  NARRATION. 

I.  THEME. — Cruelty  of  Joseph's  Brethren. 

1.  Joseph  was  the  son  of  Rachel. 

2.  The  sons  of  Jacob,  who  hated  Joseph,  were  the  half- 
brothers  of  Joseph. 

3.  Joseph   dreamed   that    his   older  brothers   would  in 
future  life  be  subject  to  him. 

4.  His  father  loved  Joseph,  because  he  was  born  in  his 
old  age. 


SIMPLIFIED   EXERCISES    AND   EXPLANATIONS.        209 

5.  The  other  brothers  hated  Joseph  on  this  account. 

6.  When   the   opportunity   offered,   they   determined   to 
kill  him. 

7.  Joseph  had  a  second  dream,  which  imported  that  not 
only  his  brothers  but  his  father  should  do  him  reverence. 

8.  This  enraged  his  brothers  the  more. 

9.  They   did   not   finally  kill   him ;    but  sold  him  into 
Egypt. 

10.  Jacob  was  greatly  afflicted  when  his  envious  and  de- 
ceitful sons  told  him  Joseph  was  killed 

II.  THEME. — Pascal's  Mathematical  Studies. 

1.  He  showed  a  desire  to  study  geometry  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  which  his  father  prohibited. 

2.  His  father  told  him  what  the  science  of  geometry  was. 

3.  With  this  information,  he  made  his  own  figures  with 
charcoal,  in  his  room,  and   made  his  own  names,  calling  a 
circle  "  a  round,"  and  a  line  "a  bar." 

4.  He  studied  out  and  proved  over  thirty  of  the  proposi- 
tions of  Euclid,  without  aid  of  book  or  teacher,  when  he  was 
discovered  by  his  father. 

5.  He  always  was  curious  about  the  neasons  of  things, 
and  was  never  satisfied  till  he  understood  them  clearly. 

6.  Before  he  took  up  geometry,  observing  a  sound  made 
at  table  by  striking  a  plate  with  a  knife,  he  experimented  on 
sounds,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  wrote  a  treatise  on  sounds. 

7.  After  his  father  discovered  his  studies  in  geometry, 
he  gave  him  a  Euclid  to  read,  but  only  in  recreation  hoursr 
which  he  improved  so  successfully  that  he  became  a  leading 
member  of  a  society  of  savans. 

8.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  constructed,  while  suffering 
acute  pain,  a  calculating  machine. 

9.  Before  this,  he  had  written,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  a 


300         SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 

treatise  on  conic  sections,  pronounced  to  be  superior  to  any 
previous  work  on  the  science  that  had  appeared  since  the 
time  of  Archimedes. 


III.  THEME. — Story  of  Colbert  as  a  Financier. 

1.  Jean  Baptiste  Colbert  was  apprenticed  to  a  woolen- 
draper. 

2.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  his  master  found  him  intently 
reading  history. 

3.  He  was  at  that  age  proficient  in  arithmetic,  of  which 
he  was  very  fond. 

4.  His  master  sends  him  with  specimens  of  cloth  to  a 
banker,  with  the  prices  fixed.     The  banker  takes  a  piece  of 
the  highest  price,  but  by  mistake  retains  a  piece  of  an  infe- 
rior quality. 

5.  Baptiste  carries  home  the  money  for  the  costlier  piece; 
discovers  on  the  return  of  the  porter  the  mistake,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  opposition  of  his  master,  who  wished  to  take 
advantage  of  the  mistake  of  the  banker,  returns  the  excess 
of  money,  and  then  pays-  over  to  his  master  the  just  cost  of 
the  goods. 

6.  His  master,  in  a  passion,  drives  him  from  his  business. 

7.  The  banker,  hearing  of  the  matter  ^.d  having  been 
struck  with  the  artless  honesty  of  the  bej,  and  with  his  gen- 
erous resentment  at  the  offer  to  him  of  a  reward  for  his  hon- 
esty, visits  his  father  and  proposes  to  take  Baptiste  into  his 
banking-house. 

8.  When  but  an  apprentice  to  the  woolen-draper,  he  was 
ridiculed  by  his  master  for  saying,  one  day,  that  if  he  were 
a  prime  minister,  he  would  not  be  so  harsh  and  arbitrary. 
This  remark  evinced  his  aspiring  thoughts  when  but  a  boy. 

9.  His  diligence,  fidelity,  and  skill,  recommended  him  to 
Cardinal  Mazarin,  who  made  him  privy  counselor. 


SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS.         £01 

10.  From  this  station  Tie  rose,  under  Louis  XIV,  to  be 
comptroller-general  of  finance. 

11.  When  in  the  banking-house,  he  diligently  studied  into 
all  the  details  of  the  business,  and  made  himself  a  thorough 
financier. 

12.  He  traveled  at  this  period  over  France,  as  agent  for 
the  firm.     He  in  these  travels  made  commerce  his  study. 

13.  He  acquired  in  these  ways  that  reputation  for  hon- 
esty, that  skill  in  his   great  pursuit,  that  intelligence,  and 
those  habits  of  application,  through   which   he  became  the 
great  benefactor  of  France,  developing  its  resources,  estab- 
lishing its  credit,  introducing  the  industrial  arts  and  foster- 
ing education,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts. 

IY.  THEME. — Repentance. 

1.  A  friend  talked  earnestly  with  me. 

2.  I  was  very  sorry. 

3.  I  determined  to  reform. 

4.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  repentance  are  very  great. 

5.  I  was  convinced  I  had  done  wrong. 

6.  I  went  resolutely  and  confessed  my  fault. 

7.  Some  of  my  companions  told  me  it  was  foolish  to  be 
so  sad,  or  to  trouble  myself  about  such  a  thing. 

8.  I  withstood  all  their  bad  influence,  and  rejoice  I  was 
wise  enough  to  begin  amendment. 

9.  The  first  opportunity  that  presented,  I  carried  out  my 
purpose. 

SIMPLE  DESCRIPTION. 
I.  THEME. — My  Study  Table. 

1.  It  stands  in  the  farther  corner  of  the  room. 

2.  It  has  a  curious  history,  as  appears  from  the  cuts  on 
the  edges  and  the  marks  on  the  surface. 


302         SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 

'    3.  It  is  of  a  dull  and  somber  color. 

4.  It  was  once  an  oblong,  but  its  corners  are  beveled  by 
long  toil  of  whittlers. 

5.  It  is  just  large  enough  to  hold  a  lamp  and  such  books 
and  papers  as  I  need  to  use  at  the  time. 

6.  It  is  two  and  a  third  feet  high  to  the  leaf,  and  the 
drawer  is  high  enough  to  admit  my  feet  being  extended  as 
convenience  may  require,  underneath. 

MODEL  OF  CORRECTION. 

1.  Position. 

2.  Size  and  hight. 

3.  Shape. 

4.  Color  and  marks. 

5.  History. 

II.  THEME. — May  Morning  at  Ravenna. 

1.  Sun  rising. 

2.  A  stir  in  the  streets. 

3.  Air  clear  and  bright. 

4.  It  is  the  last  morning  in  spring. 

5.  There  are  bubbling  springs  to  be  heard  in  the  grass. 

6.  Warm  and  gentle  rains  the  previous  night. 

7.  The  towers  of  the  city  and  the  bay  beyond. 

8.  Birds  are  singing. 

9.  Ships  in  the  distance  with  sails  of  white. 

10.  Happy  faces  in  the  leafy  roads. 

11.  The  earth  fresh  and  green. 

12.  Distant  hills  discerned  in  sharp  outline. 


SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS.         303 


III.  THEME. — A  Brook. 

1.  Small  and  rapid. 

2.  Through  meadows  of  uneven  surface. 

3.  Lined  with  bushes. 

4.  Waters  clear  as  crystal. 

5.  Abounds  with  minnows. 

6.  Its  course  is  zigzag. 

7.  It  has  many  deep  pools. 

8.  The  larger  fish  frequent  more  retired  streams. 

9.  Tame  ducks  love  to  sport  in  the  larger  pools. 

10.  It  witnesses  merry  times  at  sheep-washing. 

11.  It  emerges  from  thick  woods  as  it  enters  the  meadows 

12.  No  springs  are  high  up  the  mountain. 


IV.  THEME.—  The  Rainbow. 

1.  The  sun  was  just  setting  in  the  west. 

2.  Opposite,    a    full    half-circle,    the    bow    arched    the 
sky. 

3.  It  was    an    emblem    of  peace    between    heaven    and 
earth. 

4.  It  rested  on  a  black  cloud,  that  betokened  previous 
storm  and  strife. 

5.  The  inner  hue  was  a  deep  blue  ;  the  outer  was  a  bright 
orange  merging  into  red. 

6.  The  imaginative  Greeks  deified  the  rainbow,  and  made 
Iris  the  messenger  of  Heaven  to  men. 

7.  Exterior  to  the  bow  was  another,  fainter,  and  with  its 
hues  reversed ;  its  inner  colors  being  orange  red,  its  outer 
violet. 

8.  Sometimes  a  rainbow  is  seen  at  night.      But  the  lunar 
bow  is  faint  and  cold. 


304         SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 


ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 

I.  THEME. — Etymology. 

1.   Etymology  treats  of  letters  and  syllables. 
.2.  It  shows  how  words  are  formed. 

3.  It  enumerates   the   letters   of  the   alphabet,  and  de 
scribes  their  forms  and  their  sounds. 

4.  It  does  not  treat  of  the  union  of  words  in  a  sentence ; 
in  this  it  differs  from  syntax. 

5.  It  is  a  part  of  Grammar,  and  is  usually  the  first  pre- 
sented of  the  various  parts. 

6.  The  other  parts  are  Syntax,  Prosody,  and  Lexicog- 
raphy. 

7.  It  enumerates  the  parts  of  speech,  and  gives  the  in- 
flections of  such  as  are  inflected. 

8.  It  shows  how  words  are  derived. 

MODEL  OF  CORRECTION. 

1.  Etymology  is  a  part  of  Grammar. 

2.  It  treats  words  in  respect  to — a,  their  elements ;    6, 
their  forms ;  c,  their  changes ;  and  rf,  their  derivations. 

In  developing  the  first  head,  Etymology  may  be  distin- 
guished— a,  from  Syntax,  which  treats  of  the  connection  of 
words  to  express  thought;  6,  from  Prosody,  which  treats  of 
the  combination  of  words  in  verse ;  and,  c,  from  Lexicog- 
raphy, which  treats  of  the  meaning  of  words. 

II.  THEME. — Biography. 

1.  A  biography  relates  a  life. 

2.  Histories  narrate  the  life  of  nations. 

3.  An  autobiography  is  written  by  the  subject  himself. 


SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS.         305 

4.  All  biographies  are  narrations. 

5.  Tales  are  narrations  of  particular  events  or  scenes  in  a 
person's  life. 

6.  A  biography  relates  the  life  of  an  individual,  not  of 
societies  or  communities, 

III.  THEME. — Multiplication. 

1.  Multiplication  is  a  part  of  arithmetic. 

2.  Addition  is  the  increase  of  a  number  by  some  other 
number. 

3.  Multiplication  is  the  increase  of  a  number  by  itself  a 
greater  or  less  number  of  times. 

4.  It  is  one  of  the  ground  rules  or  general  processes  of 
arithmetic. 

5.  It  is  a  summary  mode  of  addition. 

6.  Division  shows  how  many  times  one  number  is  con- 
tained in  another. 

7.  Multiplication  shows  how  large  a  number  will  become 
if  repeated  a  given  number  of  times. 

8.  The  result  of  the  multiplication  is  called  the  product ; 
the  result  of  division  is  called  the  quotient. 

IV.  THEME. — A  State. 

1.  A  State  differs  from  a  family  in  this  :  that  the  mem- 
bers of  a  State  live  in  the  same  territory ;  the  members  of  a 
family  participate  in  the  same  blood. 

2.  Every  State  must  have  a  head,  which  represents  the 
body  of  the  members. 

3.  A  State  is  one  form  of  society. 

4.  Membership  of  the  State  is  constituted  by  vicinity  of 
abode ;  membership  of  the  family,  by  sameness  of  lineage. 

5.  A  State  is  founded  on  the  civil  interests  of  its  mem- 
bers ;  a  Church,  on  their  epintua)  interests. 


306         SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 

6.  A  State  is  a  permanent  society. 

7.  It  cannot  live  but  with  a  government. 

Plans  of  Exercises  on  the  same  Theme,  developed  under  dif- 
ferent processes. 

THEME. —  The  Right  Hand. 
I.  BY  SIMPLE  NARRATION. 

1.  The  first   stage   presents    it  a  mere  thing  of  power, 
capable  of  moving. 

2.  At  the  second  stage,  it  encounters,  in  moving,  resist- 
ance, and  brings  back  to  the  mind  the  knowledge  of  some- 
thing without  itself. 

3.  At  a  third  stage,  is  noted  an  increase  of  power  and 
of  flexibility. 

4.  It  soon  predominates  over  the  left  hand ;   robs  it  of 
its  fair  opportunities  ;  usurps  preeminence. 

5.  It  finally  becomes  predominant  in  all  handiwork. 

II.  BY  ABSTRACT  DESCRIPTION. 

Here  the  theme  is  necessarily  viewed  as  outward  symbol' 
symbol,  we  will  suppose,  of  dexterity.  As  such,  it  is  prop- 
erly and  fully  described  as  to  its  elements,  in  the  indica- 
tion of 

1.  Sensibility; 

2.  Readiness  of  motion  ; 

3.  Power  of  retention ; 

And  in  respect  to  its  sphere  in  the  specification  of 

1.  Mechanical  pursuits. 

2.  Intelligence. 

3.  Art. 

4.  Social  life  generally. 

5.  Piety. 


SIMPLIFIED    EXERCISES    AND   EXPLANATIONS.        307 

III.  BY  DIVISION. 

a.  Simple,  1.  Bone;  2.  Nerve;  3.  Muscle. 

b.  Abstract,  as  symbol  of  executive  power  of  efficiency. 

1.  Basis  in  principle. 

2.  Sensibility  to  occasion ;  including  nice  sense  of  condi- 
tion and  circumstances. 

3.  Activity  in  respect  of — 1.  Suppleness;  2.  Strength. 

IY.  BY  PARTITION. 

a.  Simple,  1.  Body  of  Hand ;  2.  Fingers. 

b.  Abstract. 

1.  Broad  and  firm  ground  or  center  of  particular  activi- 
ties. 

2.  Special  activities,  as  being  1.  Manifold ;  2.  Symmet- 
rically disposed ;    3.  Diverse  in  function ;   4.  Flexible ;    5. 
Energetic. 

THEME. — Self -Knowledge. 

I.  BY  NARRATION. 

1.  In  childhood,  weak  and  limited,  the  reflective  faculty 
not  being  awakened. 

2.  Advancing  life  brings  occasions  for  self- observation, 
in  failures  and  in  successes. 

3.  More  outward  characteristics   first   recognized;    then 
more  internal. 

4.  They  are  first  noticed  singly  ;    then  in  relations,  as 
weakness   in    knowledge,    in    relation   to  weakness    in   con- 
science, or  purpose,  or  action,  etc. ;  and  also  in  respect  of 

"relative  predominance. 

5.  Finally,  these  single  views  are  combined  into  one,  and 
we  obtain  a  general  knowledge  of  ourselves. 


308        SIMPLIFIED   EXERCISES   AND    EXPLANATIONS. 

So  far  self-knowledge  is   regarded  as  purely  intellectual. 
It  afterward  becomes 

1.  Practical,  as  applied  to  particular  regulation  of  con- 
luct,  to  development  of  faculties,    to   correction   of  fauks, 

and  to  cultivation  of  excellences. 

2.  Habitual. 

II.  BY  DESCRIPTION. 

1.  Nature — Knowledge  of  one's  self  as  distinct  from  oth- 
ers in  peculiarities:  1.  Outward;  2.  Inward,  of  mind,  heart, 
taste,  and  will ;  with  subordinate  views  of  deficiencies  and 
extravagances,  distortions  and  beauties,  propensities  and  re- 
pugnances, liabilities  and  privileges ;  and,  also,  as  intellectual 
and  practical. 

2.  Acquisition — Rare,  difficult,  slow  at  first  but  accelerated 
with  progress ;   by  study  of  general  principles  and  facts  of 
nature,  observation,  scrutiny  of  one's  own  experience. 

3.  Utility — 1.  Indispensable  to  all  genuine  culture,  as  men 
are   rational,   not  mere  spontaneous  natures;    2.   Protective 
against  evils  to  fortune  and  character;  3.  Promotive  of  solid 
satisfaction  in  notice  even  of  faults  or  weaknesses  as  capable 
of  remedy,  view  of  actual  improvement,  study  of  divine  works 
and  training. 

Or,  the   plan,  embracing   the   whole   view,  would   be   as 
marked  in  the  successive  stages : 

1.  After  childlike  want  of  reflection,  comes,  first,  observ- 
ation of  single  traits,  first  the  more  outward,  then  the  more 
internal,  on  occasion  of  failures  or  successes. 

2.  Then  follow  comparisons,  measuring  relations  of  cor- 
respondence, aid,  or  hinderance. 

3.  This  intellectual  comprehension  of  ourselves  passes  into^ 
the  practical ;  and,  finally,  as  a  fixed  habit,  becomes  a  neces- 
sary condition  and  efficient  auxiliary  of  moral  and  intellectual 
culture. 


SIMPLIFIED  EXERCISES  AND  EXPLANATIONS.        309 

III.  BY  ANALYSIS. 

1.  Constituents. — 1.  Knowledge  of  physical  frame,  of  ra- 
tional spirit,  and  relations  between  them  ;   2.  Beings,  objects, 
and  influences  about  us;  3.  Destiny  and  end. 

2.  Uses. 


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